Song-dynasty painting and its complementary natures: The Humanity of expression

Abstract

Painters of the Song dynasty (960-1279) produced some of the most breathtakingly beautiful paintings that display a high degree of naturalism. This is to say that the artists sought to skillfully capture the appearance of the subject matter. This quality can be seen in paintings attributed to Emperor Huizong (r. 1100-1126). For example the famously celebrated painted Women preparing newly woven silk displays great refinement of technical skills and showcases the gorgeous beauty of the court women. But by 1100 an alternative idea of what constituted the natural was defined by scholar-officials, most notably Su Shi. He argued the presence of the artist’s hand revealing his intention was the most natural part of a painting. Painters inspired by Su Shi’s ideas produced paintings with an aim to reveal the naturalness of their individual interpretations of the subject represented. They created some of the most formally innovative paintings in the history of Chinese art as they turned away from the importance of naturalism to affirm their artistic visions. In a series of two talks, the complementary natures of the natural in Song-dynasty painting will be explored. One talk, “The Beauty of naturalism” is devoted to explore the naturalism central to the skillful and gorgeous productions typical of Emperor Huizong’s painting. The other, “The Humanity of expression” will address the naturalness of the artist as producer of the imagery that naturally demonstrate the thinking and expressive artist. Each talk will look at five paintings to illustrate the different aspects of the nature in Song painting.