Complete Collection of Famous Chinese Painters -- Li Keran

Author: Mei Mosheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-10-01
Features: Chinese painting art has a long history and is closely tied to the civilization of our country. Since the Jin Dynasty's Gu Kaizhi, over a thousand years, various schools have emerged, and renowned masters have appeared one after another. Unfortunately, we still lack a systematic and comprehensive work that introduces the history of painting and painters. To fill this gap and allow readers to gain a more detailed understanding of Chinese painting civilization and painters, we have compiled this large series of books. The series is divided into two parts: Ancient and Modern. The ancient section includes painters from Gu Kaizhi and Wu Daozi to Wang Wei, followed by the masters of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, totaling over 60 individuals, each with their own volume (a few include 2-3 painters). The modern section includes Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong, Pan Tianshou, Zhou Sichen, and others, totaling over 30 individuals, each with their own volume, edited by Lang Shaojun and Zhang Zhixin. This book is published in a large 32-page hardcover format, printed in color on copper paper, and includes the painters' biographies, artistic careers, painting styles, art discussions, critiques from various scholars, chronologies, and catalogs of their masterpieces. It also features numerous photographs of the painters' lives and work, as well as nearly 200 of their paintings. The book is rich in detailed information, well-illustrated, and both academic rigor and readability, making it an invaluable resource for experts and scholars studying Chinese painters. (Particularly the specialized volumes on Li Liufang, Cheng Mengyang, Mei Qing, Chen Banding, and Tao Lengyue are works that fill gaps in art history.) It is also an excellent choice for young people and art enthusiasts to explore Chinese painting art.
This book provides an overview of the life and art of the renowned Chinese painter Li Keran. The painter, grounded in the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, manifests in the wonders of the human mind. Standing between heaven and earth, surrounded by all things, the painter's spirit blends with inspiration, and suddenly, with a stroke of the brush, they pursue what they see, hear, and feel. With a cry, they create works of extraordinary brilliance. Our country's painting tradition has deep roots, dating back to Gu Kaizhi in the Jin Dynasty. Over the centuries, countless schools have flourished, and masters have emerged in every generation. From the north to the south, talented artisans have appeared, each with distinct styles, forging their own unique visions. The vast Yangtze River and the majestic Kunlun Mountains cannot begin to describe its grandeur. For later generations to fully understand and appreciate its subtleties, it remains an immense challenge. I was born too late to be a painter, but by observing the works of ancient masters and the inevitable changes of their times, I have come to understand that learning from the masters enables one to transcend the rules. The ancients once said that this art is a place to express one's aspirations—was it so?
When I study the masterpieces of the past, I realize that their methods are like mirages or reflections in water, seemingly present yet elusive. Yet their lack of rigid rules is like the boundless blue sky and clear waters, vast and limitless. Our society has compiled works from ancient and modern times, selecting the most outstanding painters of each era to detail their lives, artistic theories, technical features, and the legacy they left behind. This allows readers to see a glimpse and grasp the whole, to understand one painter and grasp an entire era's art. By reading the collections of dozens of renowned painters, one gains a comprehensive overview of thousands of years of Chinese painting civilization.
However, due to the passage of time and frequent wars, countless masterpieces have been lost or damaged. Some painters left no works behind, while others had only a few preserved. Some painters were famous, yet little was recorded about their lives and deeds. As a result, the number of existing images and introductions is limited. Thus, presenting a few painters in each volume is better than offering no introduction at all.
In the past, Ouyang Xun compiled Yiwen Lüji and wrote: "I wish to make every household rich in rare treasures and every person adorned with jade, allowing each predecessor to compile their own ideas." This collection embodies that very spirit.