Artist: Liang Kai (3rd Quarter of the 12th century)
Title: The Tang dynasty poet, Libo
Material: ink and color on paper
Site:
Current Location:
Period/Date: Southern Song dynasty (painting attributed to ca. 1200)
Iconography/Iconology: During the Southern Song period, the Tang dynasty poet, Libo, was considered to be one of the great exemplars of the poetic tradition. He was known for capturing the essence of an idea with a minimum of characters. It is exactly appropriate that the artist, Liang Kai, portrays the poet in a similar minimalistic manner, with but a few brush strokes to capture the essence of the form. Later in Laing Kai's career, he resigned the Chinese court academy and became a Chan (Zen) Buddhist monk and painter. In the Chan tradition there was a desire to illustrate one's own attainment through capturing the essential quality of a subject through just a few strokes.
Stylistic Comments: The painting consists of only a few bold strokes making up the robe, a relatively detailed face and quick splashes for the feet or shoes. The sense of spontaneity derieved from the dryness of the brush and the apparent absorbency of the paper, gives the appearance that the painting was produced with great dexterity, and completed in just a few minutes.
