Beijing

   Fan Kuan is known to be one of the leading figures in the Northern Song Landscape tradition and one of the most appreciated landscape artists in traditional China. Like many Song landscapists he began by studying Li Cheng’s work, a practice that was very common at the time. Still, fairly soon in his career, Fan Kuan broke away from his model teacher in a search for greater freedom. Li Cheng, promoted the unmediated contact with nature, under his inspiration, Fan Kuan stopped copying art and started seeking true and direct contact with the external world. After working in nature for years, Fan Kuan took another step to find his muse in an even deeper layer of existence. He says:” I find myself learning from a man, a human model is inferior to learning directly from nature itself. However, both these methods: model and nature cannot compare with learning from one's own heart”. Fan Kuan was said to create a new style which stressed the importance of imagination and the detachment from reality. He created imaginary landscapes that were different and unique while preserving the internal order and ideal balance of nature.       

>Link Partners             >Contact Us      

- The World of Chinese Art (tm) -