LI CHENG
“A solitary Temple amid clearing Peaks”, c.960 a.c.
ink on paper - Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City
The Song dynasty (960-1279) supposed a "Renaissance" of the Chinese art after the period of 'Five Dynasties and Ten States' (907-960) characterized by the instability caused by the Barbarian invasions. The new Emperors were interested in the artistic expression and started a new patronage. In addition, the popularization of the vertical roll allowed new advances in the representation of the landscape and the natural elements, and also in the investigation of the spatial and volumetric effects
This work by Li Cheng is a good example of all this. The Buddhist temple has been represented from a considerable distance, allowing us to appreciate the grandiloquence of the surrounding mountainous landscape. The evident verticality is emphasized by the three powerful waterfalls that surround the temple and feed the mighty river that two men are crossing by the small bridge, represented with an exceptional naturalism. The composition is a true masterpiece, and its small format does not reduce neither its force nor its effectiveness.
Text: G. Fernández, www.theartwolf.com
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