Gongbi Painting: Traditional Chinese Realistic Painting

Updated: 2012-02-10 16:21
Zhou Fang (Chinese: 周昉)(c. 730-800 CE) was one of two influential painters during the mid-Tang dynasty. He came from a noble background and this was reflected in his works, such as Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers or Court Lady With Servants. Late Tang dynasty art critic Zhu Jing Xuan said, "Zhou Fang's Buddha, celestial beings, figures and paintings of beautiful women are all incredible masterpieces."

Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers,by Zhou Fang

Emperor Huizong (1082–1135) was the eighth and one of the most famous emperors of the Song Dynasty of China, with a personal life spent amidst luxury, sophistication and art, but ending in tragedy.

Huizong took huge efforts to search for art masters. He established the “Han Lin Hua Yuan” (Chinese:翰林画院, or Han Lin imperial painting house) where top painters around China share their best works.

Pigeon on a Peach Branch, by Emperor Huizong.

The primary subjects of his paintings are birds and flowers. Among his works is Five-Colored Parakeet on Blossoming Apricot Tree. He also recopied Zhang Xuan's painting Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk, and his reproduction is the only copy of that painting that survives today.

Editor: Xu Xinlei