An Introduction to

Chinese Figure Painting

 • Chinese Figure Painting
• Techniques
• Chinese Figure Painting Course
• The Four Treasures & Others
• Calligraphy
Chinese Figure Painting
Chinese Figure Painting in early
times emphasised Buddhist and
Daoist themes.
Mogao Caves, Dunhuang
 Gu Kaizhi (344-406) (Jin Dynasty)

He was an amateur painter who painted

slender and fairly-like figures where lines
flow rhythmatically.

His “Admonitions of the Court

Instructress”
illustrates a political parody in which the
excessive behaviour of the empress is
attacked.
Gu Kaizhi (344-406) (Jin Dynasty)

Admonitions of the Court

Instructress
Gu Kaizhi (344-406) (Jin Dynasty)
The patronage of the Sui (581-618)
and Tang (618-907) courts
attracted painters from all over the
Empire in which historical scrolls,
notable events and portraits were
depicted.
Yan Liben (600-673) (Tang Dynasty)

He was a Chinese painter and

government official of the early Tang
dynasty.

He was commissioned by the

Enmperor Taizong to paint the

Thirteen Emperors Scroll

Yan Liben (600-673) (Tang Dynasty)

Thirteen Emperors Scroll

Yan Liben (600-673) (Tang Dynasty)

Detail from
Thirteen
Emperors Scroll
Emperor Wen
of Sui
Zhang Xuan (713-755) (Tang Dynasty)
depicted court life in his

Court Ladies Preparing Newly-Woven

Silk
Zhang Xuan (713-755) (Tang Dynasty)
 In the middle to late Tang dynasty,
Daoist painters were using a splashed
ink technique of painting in which the
spontaneous process of art mimicked
the process of creation.

The School of Chan Buddhism

flourished and with it a number of
eccentric painters who painted with
exaggerated brushstrokes.
Shi ke (907-960) (Five Dynasties)

The Second Patriarch in Contemplation

Southern court painters depicted the
sensual courtly life
Gu Hongzhong (960-1127) (Five Dynasties)

He was a court painter who painted

Night Entertainment of Han Xizai

 Gu Hongzhong (960-1127)

Night Entertainment of Han Xizai

 Emperor Huizong (1082-1135)

was a skilled poet, calligrapher and

painter and restorer of Confucian values.

Listening to the Qin

Emperor Huizong (1082-1135)
Towards the end of the Song dynasty,
Chan Buddhism experienced a brief
stimulus, as people abandoned the
decaying environment of court and
sought a simple monastic life.

The court painter Liang Kai became a

Chan recluse.
Other Chan artists like Muqi became
widespread.
 Liang Kai (1140-1210)
(Southern Song Dynasty)
 Liang Kai (1140-1210)
(Southern Song Dynasty)
 With the advent of the Mongols, the Yuan
dynasty curtailed the employment of the
Chinese scholar officals and the theme of the
groom and horse became a symbolic plea of
the use of scholastic talent.
Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) (Yuan Dynasty)

Groom and Horse

 During the Ming dynasty figure painters
became forefront using the fine line style of
the Song dynasty.

Du Jin, Tang Yin and Qui Ying were amongst

these who blended different styles together.
Du Jin (1465-1509) (Ming dynasty)

Enjoying Antiquities
Tang Yin (1470-1523) (Ming dynasty)

Lady Ban Holding a Round Fan

Tang Yin (1470-1523) (Ming dynasty)

Lady Ban Holding a Round Fan

Qui Ying (1494-1552) (Ming dynasty)

Spring Morning in the Han Palace

During the Qing dynasty, figure painting
was heavily influenced by the spread of
Western ideas of realism and techniques
brought from missionaries like
Castiliogne.
 Ding Guanpeng (1708-1771)

studied oil painting under Castiliogne and

was noted for his landscapes and people.

Spring Market at Peace

Ding Guanpeng (1708-1771)

Spring Market at Peace

 The ninetenth century saw the
development of the Shanghai School of
Painting, where paintings were
emphatic in form, bold in colour and
powerful in calligraphy.

It was a fusion of the modern and the

traditional forms.
Ren Bonian (1840-1896)

Zhing Kui
In the twentieth century, many artists
studied in Japan or Europe (Paris) and
developed a new national style of
painting, fusing Eastern and Western
traditions.
 Fu Baoshi (1904-1965)

He was a modern landscape painter who

went to Japan and revolutionised ink
painting by fusing traditional forms of
realistic descriptions that made greater
use of colour.
He was the master of spontaneous
painting through a splattered-ink
method (action art).
Fu Baoshi (1904-1965)
 Lin Fengmian (1900-1991)
He blended Chinese and western styles
of painting. He spent most of his time in
Paris where he was influenced by
Matisse, Picasso and Roualt to create
very colourful and expressive paintings
Lin Fengmian (1900-1991)

Lady in Blue
 Cheng Shifa (1921-2007)
He became known for his traditional paintings of
minority ethnic groups from Yunnan.

He worked to stress the unity and connection

between different ethnic groups.
Cheng Shifa (1921-2007)

Lady in Blue
 Jiang Zhaohe (1900-1991)
He combined the traditional Chinese painting style
with the western realist style.

He emphasised the hardness of the times.

Jiang Zhaohe (1900-1991)

Homeless People
Techniques

Gongbi
Baimiao
Xieyi
Gong Bi

Zhao Ji
(Song Dynasty)
 Gong Bi
Means “meticulous brushwork” and is
characterised by highly detailed brush strokes.

It is used to realistically depict highly decorative

subjects.

The subject is sketched, traced and outlined

before washes of colour are added in various
stages.
Bai Miao
 Bai Miao
Means “white drawing” and is a kind of gong bi
in which the subject is sketched, traced and
outlined using fine delicate brush work.

Colour is absent and the white drawings can

effectively show the transparency of silk
garments.
Xieyi
 Xieyi
Means “sketching thoughts” or “spontaneous
painting”.

It is highly expressive of the individual artist

who uses the power of the brush to do this.

It is often used to express the essence (qi) of a

given subject unlike the naturalism and realism
of the gongbi approach.
Chinese Figure Painting
Course Outline

Portrait (Women)
Portrait (Men)
Courtly Ladies
Confucian Gentlemen
Daoist Monks
The Four Treasures
The Four Treasures
 Chinese Brushes - Materials

• Goat hair
• Weasel/wolf hair
• Badger hair
• Horse hair
 Chinese Brushes – Sizes/Shapes

• Detail Brush (fine)

• Small (小)
• Medium (中)
• Large (大)
 Chinese Ink
• Ink Stick

• Ink Bottle
 “Xuan” Paper
The term “Xuan paper”originally meant paper made in
the ancient paper making prefecture of Xuancheng.
But now “Xuan paper” or “rice paper” has come to
mean “Traditional Chinese or Chinese-style paper” for
ink painting/calligraphy.

•Unsized Raw Paper

•Semi-sized Paper
•Sized Paper
•Mulberry Paper
•Jinxing Xuan Paper
Other Treasures
Calligraphy
Basic Strokes - Yǒng