The 10 Most Famous Paintings from The Tang Dynasty
1. Portrait of Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy
Artists: Yan Liben
2. Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers
Artists: Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang
This work is currently housed in the Liaoning Provincial Museum.
3. Five Oxen Painting
Artists: Han Huang
"Five Oxen" is the earliest known painting on paper, made of hemp paper, a common type of paper in the Tang Dynasty. The painting depicts five oxen, each in a different posture. The artist of the Five Oxen painting skillfully depicts the oxen's bones and muscles, allowing us to clearly see their individual details, including the fine hairs on their heads and muzzles.
Han Huang's keen observation of the oxen's eyes vividly portrays their both docile and stubborn nature. Oxen are a traditional subject in ancient Chinese painting, reflecting the dominant ideology of an agricultural country that prioritizes agriculture.
"Five Oxen" is the only surviving example of his work and one of the few genuine Tang Dynasty paintings on paper or silk, thus attracting widespread attention for both its artistic achievement and historical value.
Five Oxen measures 20.8 cm wide and 139.8 cm long. It is currently housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
4. The Night Banquet of Han Xizai
Artist: Gu Hongzhong
The Night Banquet of Han Xizai is 28.7 cm wide and 335.5 cm long, and is currently housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
5. Streams and Mountains Clearing After Snow
Artist: Yang Sheng
This painting, Streams and Mountains After Snow, portrays a figure journeying home on a frigid, snow-covered winter night. While its overall atmosphere is serene and desolate, it also carries a subtle warmth and comfort of homecoming.
As a representative snowscape painting of the Tang Dynasty, "Landscape of Streams and Mountains After Snowfall" fully presents the aesthetics of landscape painting from the High Tang to the Mid-Tang Dynasty art. It is a precious treasure for studying the boneless landscape and snowscape painting techniques of the Tang Dynasty.
The painting measures 118.9 cm in height and 60.3 cm in width. It is housed in the Yale University Art Museum.
6. Ladies Waving Fans
Artists: Zhou Fang
7. Noble Ladies Dallying with Children
Artist: Zhou Fang
"Playing with the Baby" is attributed to Zhou Fang, a court painter of the Tang Dynasty. It is a typical Tang Dynasty painting with the theme of ladies playing with children. It is mostly a silk scroll with color. It is a rare surviving copy of Zhou Fang's paintings that focuses on children playing and noble ladies teasing their children. It vividly draw the life and interests of aristocratic families in the blooming Tang Dynasty.
The tang dynasty painting is set against an elegant and tranquil backdrop of courtyards, railings, flowers, grass, and elegant furnishings. The noble ladies radiating a gentle aura and maternal love, while the children appear innocent and lively, fully embodying the peaceful and comfortable lifestyle of aristocratic families in the glorious Tang Dynasty. The figures are depicted with full, plump physiques, round faces, and graceful, dignified bearing, perfectly reflecting the mid-Tang aesthetic of “admiring fullness as beauty.” The brushstrokes are supple and smooth, with flowing, elegant lines for the clothing drapery.
This painting measures 29.5 cm in height and 142.9 cm in width. It is housed in the National Palace Museum, Taipei.
8. Riverbank After Snow
Artist: Wang Wei
"Riverbank After Snow" is a masterpiece of ink-wash landscape painting by the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei, and also a pioneering work in the genre of ink-wash snowscape painting. It depicts the scene of a riverbank after a snowfall, with the sky clearing.
The painting features large areas of blank space instead of snow and river surface, creating a sense of emptiness, tranquility, and remoteness. The scholar in the boat, like a poet, conveys the transcendent and meditative beauty of "walking to the end of the watercourse, sitting and watching the clouds rise."
The original work no longer exists; what exists today are later copies (such as the one held at the Kōtō-in Temple in Kyoto, Japan).
9. Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk
Artist: Zhang Xuan
"Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk" is a meticulous brushwork painting on silk with rich colors by the Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Xuan. It paints the labor scenes of aristocratic women in the Tang Dynasty: pounding, weaving, sewing, and ironing silk. The painting features 12 figures. Using a scattered perspective, the figures are depicted with full, rounded forms, the lines are fine and vigorous, and the colors are rich and vibrant, showcasing the Tang Dynasty's aesthetic preference for plumpness.
The painting vividly recreates scenes of court life in the prosperous Tang Dynasty by meticulously depicting the processes of pounding silk, such as the forceful movements of rolling up sleeves and the playful interactions of the girls. This painting is an important art historical material for the study of Tang Dynasty clothing, crafts, and social culture.
The painting measures 37 cm in width and 145.3 cm in length. The original is lost; the extant version is a copy made by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty and is currently housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
10. The Heavenly King and the Infant Buddha
Artist: Wu Daozi
Wu Daozi, a painter of the Tang Dynasty, is revered as the "Sage of Painting" in China. Many of Wu Daozi's works have been recorded, but only "Ghost Lord", "Searching the Mountain", and "The King of Heaven and the Infant Buddha" have survived to this day.
The "The Heavenly King and the Infant Buddha" painting is a Buddhist theme, telling the story of Shakyamuni Buddha's birth to earth. The painting is divided into two parts, revolving around the birth of the Buddha and the worship of the gods. This painting is mainly in line drawing style, with light colors applied, and focuses more on the expression of the figures' expressions, movements and spirit.
The "The Heavenly King and the Infant Buddha" painting is in the collection of the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Japan.
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