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Blue
Magpie and Thorny Shrubs Huang Chu-ts'ai (933-after 993), Sung Dynasty Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk, 97 x 53.6 cm Huang Chu-ts'ai was a native of Cheng-tu, Szechwan, and the son of the famous painter Huang Ch'uan of the Five Dynasties. Early in the Later Shu, Huang served in the Hanlin Academy as a "tai-chao" under Meng-hsu (r. 934-965). When the Later Shu ruler submitted to the Sung, Huang followed and went to the capital to serve at court. Emperor T'ai-tsung admired him and commissioned him to search for paintings and create a catalogue. The Huang father and son style became the standard for bird-and-flower painting of the painting academy in the early Sung. This painting represents a blue magpie about to drink from a stream. The bank is dotted with thorny shrubs, bamboo, ferns, and grasses. In the shrubs are four cinnamon sparrows with three other birds in flight. Since the style of the latter differs, it is unclear whether Huang painted them or not. |
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The composition is balanced along the central axis, much in the manner
of Northern Sung landscape paintings. The arrangement of the motifs,
however, is patternistic and appears to preserve the decorative features
of T'ang dynasty (618-907) bird-and-flower painting, such as seen in
the Astana tomb paintings of birds and flowers in six panels. There,
birds and rocks are centrally aligned with a flowering plant in the
background and birds and colored clouds in the sky. Though this work
derives compositionally from the T'ang, it presents the "sketching
from life (hsieh-sheng)" naturalism of the Sung. The artist was
particularly observant in the details and mannerisms of the plants and
animals. For example, the cinnamon sparrow differs from the common
sparrow, which has a black dot on its cheek. It also inhabits more remote
areas, unlike the common sparrow. Thus, it is naturally paired here
with the blue magpie, also a resident of hilly remote areas. Not only
naturalistic, it also conveys the idea of reclusion.
Unlike later landscape paintings, the rocks and slopes here are not textured. The thorns are done in brown washes of ink in the "boneless" manner. The vermilion of the ferns and magpie beak and claws are done in an archaic technique similar to the shading of drapery lines in Ku K'ai-chih's (346-407) "Admonitions of the Instructress." The rendering the magpie and sparrows, however, represents innovations in the "sketching from life" technique, being especially capable of capturing the spirit of these sparrows. Authentic works by famous Northern Sung artists are few. While this work preserves T'ang traditions, it also is an early example of "sketching from life." In terms of history, it was a treasured work in the collection of Hui-tsung (r. 1101-1125). Not only was it recorded in his "Hsuan-ho hua-p'u" catalogue, but it also bears his double dragon, "Hsuan-ho," "Cheng-ho," and "Jui-ssu tung-ko" collection seals. The latter three, combined with the title inscribed by Hui-tsung in the upper left corner, correlates to the "Hsuan-ho mounting" technique used in his reign. Furthermore, the presence of imperial seals from the reigns of Sung Li-tsung and Ming T'ai-tsu as well as the Ch'ing court further attest to the authenticity of this work.
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