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Anatomy of a Masterpiece: How to Read Chinese Paintings
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北宋 徽宗 竹禽圖 卷
Emperor Huizong (1082–1135; r. 1101–25)
Finches and Bamboo
Handscroll; ink and color on silk; 11 x 18 in. (27.9 x 45.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, John M. Crawford Jr. Collection, Purchase, Douglas Dillon Gift, 1981 (1981.270)
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Huizong, the eighth Song emperor and a rapacious collector of art objects, was a painter and calligrapher of great talent. In 1127, Huizong's capital at Bianliang (modern Kaifeng, Henan Province) was sacked by the Jurchen, and the emperor was carried off to the north; he died in captivity in 1135. Finches and Bamboo illustrates the suprarealistic style of flower-and-bird painting preferred by Huizong's Painting Academy. In such works, the artist displayed his intimate knowledge of the appearance and growth of plants and his ability to render accurately the movements of birds as they hop about or stand poised ready for flight. Whether he was making a study from nature or illustrating a line of poetry, however, capturing the spirit of the subject was valued above mere literal representation. Here, the minutely observed finches are imbued with the alertness and sprightly vitality of their living counterparts. Drops of lacquer added to the birds' eyes impart a final lifelike touch.
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