Beijing

Figure painting was the dominant style of painting in China before landscape painting took over during the Five Dynasties and Song period around the 10^th century A.D. Painting people is a natural tendency artists had in many different civilizations and China was no exception. This inclination reached a more mature level as Gu Kaizhi, the famous painter and theorist of the Jin Dynasty (4th century A.D.), provided this art with a theoretical background and a more serious approach. The great Tang painter Wu Daozi is considered to be the eternal father of Chinese Figure painting, also known as the Sage Painter, he inspired and influenced generations of artists with his fine, long and clear outlines. Wu Daozi transformed the once un-refined, crude and symbolic figures into real people, conveying emotions and depicted in a detailed and intricate manner. His influenced sparked a great interest in portraiture throughout the Tang period. During the mid-Tang, two great masters, Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang brought fourth a trend of painting court ladies, which represented a shift from the old portrait painting which was dominated by religious and moralistic contents. Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang brought fourth a secular style where they portrayed the inner world of the elite Tang women, conveying a strong sense of eroticism, melancholy and femininity.

Just like in most styles of Chinese painting, figure painting and portraiture can be roughly divided into two trends. The first and earlier style is meticulous, realistic and uses careful application of color. This style is also known as Gong Bi and is the style painters such as Wu Daozi, Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang followed. The second style, also known as Xie Yi, stresses expression and casual brushwork over realism and is usually executed in very few brush strokes without adding color. The Painter Liang Kai, of the Southern Song Dynasty is a good example of the spontaneity and casualness of the Xie Yi style.  

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