Rongbaozhai Ancient Painting Anthology (10) - Ming Dynasty Flowers and Birds

Author: Tang Hui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-10
Features: Lin Liang, styled Yishan, was a native of Nanhai (now Guangzhou). He was born around the year 1416 during the 14th year of the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty and passed away around the year 1480 during the 16th year of the Chenghua era. In his youth, he studied landscape painting under Yan Zong and figure painting under He Yin. Later, he became renowned for his ink and wash paintings of flowers and birds. During the Tianshun era (1457–1464), he served in the imperial court and reached the rank of [Zhinyiwei Zhenfu]. His main creative period was during the Jingtai era. He is considered one of the representative painters of flowers and birds in the Ming Dynasty. Lin Liang's flower-and-bird paintings have a unique style—they are neither the refined and meticulous court-style paintings nor the subtle and restrained literati ink-and-wash paintings by Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, or Tang Yin. Instead, they represent a turning point in ink-and-wash and colored ink-and-wash flower-and-bird paintings. For the sake of reader understanding, this article focuses on analyzing his representative masterpiece, the "Ink and Wash Painting of Birds and Plants in Dense Bushes Scroll," to provide an overview for enthusiasts.