Complete Collection of Portraits of Figures from Various Dynasties in China (Four Volumes with Traditional Binding)

Author: None
Publisher: China Women and Children Press
Publication Date: None
Features: From the Warring States period to the Ming and Qing dynasties, this book selects 370 exquisite portraits, including the Dunhuang Flying Apsaras, Gu Kaizhi's The Nymph of the Luo River and The Lady of the Han Court, Yan Liben's The Emperor Tang Entering Luoyang, Wu Daozi's Bodhisattva of the Treasure Accumulating Sutra, Tang Yin's Peony and Beauties, Xuren's Amitabha Buddha, Wu Changshuo's Old Monk and Portrait of the Buddhist Monk Pu Dai, and so on. It systematically and comprehensively showcases the development of Chinese portrait painting.
Portrait painting is a category of Chinese painting that refers to paintings primarily depicting human figures. Through the depiction of people, their activities, and their relationships, it reflects life. Generally speaking, portrait painting is considered the weakest genre in Chinese painting, less developed and glorious compared to landscape and flower-and-bird painting. In reality, this statement is not entirely accurate. From a historical perspective, the evolution of portrait painting is influenced by the rise and fall of Chinese painting as a whole. When landscape and flower-and-bird painting gradually became the dominant genres, portrait painting naturally became relatively weaker. For example, major painters before the Tang Dynasty were almost all portrait painters, while those after the Song Dynasty were almost all landscape and flower-and-bird painters. This indicates that in the early and later periods of Chinese painting, portrait painting held a prominent position. Masters like Gu Kaizhi from the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Wu Daozi from the Tang Dynasty were rare in world art at the time.