Paintings of the Sung Dynasty (960¡V1279)
It is believed that the development of the paintings in the early Sung Dynasty was on the basis of the achievements of the T¡¦ang and Five Dynasties (¤¥N). Landscape painting first rose to wide prominence. Since many artists had profound philosophical interests in nature, there had been quite a number of large-scale landscape paintings with mountains as the main feature. Concurrently, a new class of scholar-officials emerged. They inclined to employ the calligraphic brushwork for the expression of one¡¦s personality. It hence became the characteristics and spirit of Chinese painting.
Coming to the Southern Sung Dynasty, landscape painting of more subtle expression appeared; immeasurable distances were conveyed through the use of blurred outlines, mountain contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. Emphasis was placed on the spiritual qualities of the painting and on the ability of the artist to reveal the inner harmony of man and nature, as perceived according to the thoughts of Taoism and Buddhism.
Court painting of the Sung Dynasty can be described as precise and conscientious, exhibiting an obvious aristocratic artistic feature. Emperor Hui-tsung (§ºÀ²©v¡E»¯Ë¸) contributed much to the establishment and development of the Imperial Painting Academy of which high technical standard of paintings was required and strongly advocated. This had paved way for further advancement of Chinese art in the future.
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