Zhao Chang:the Painter of “Grasshoppers and Butterflies”


Among all the gifts US President Barack Obama received during his visit to Beijing, there is a collotype of a famous Chinese painting “Grasshoppers and Butterflies”. The authentic one was painted by Zhao Chang of Song Dynasty.
Zhao Chang (赵昌): Courtesy name Changzhi, native of Guanghan, Sichuan Province; professional painter specializing in drawing flowers from nature. His fame as a painter reached its zenith in the Xiangfu era (1008-1016) of Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song period, prompting him to buy back at premium prices works he’d sold in earlier years. This painting “Grasshoppers and Butterflies” (写生蛱蝶图) uses the “double outlining” technique to draw the butterfly, the grasshopper, the flowers and plants. Except for the butterfly, which is brightly colored, light coloring is applied throughout to highlight the lines. This is a particularly significant work in the Northern Song period, when color paintings of flowers became popular. Although the painting was not signed, the Ming painter Dong Qichang (1555-1637) concluded that it was a work by Zhao Chang. This claim is still disputed by some in academic research.
Sketch of Apricot Flowers (写生杏花图)
All the flower paintings by Zhao Chang were products of his persistent sketching from life. He often walked around his flower beds in early morning to observe the colors and mix his pigments accordingly. This assiduous study enabled him to better capture the beauty of flowers. He styled himself the “Sketching Zhao Chang”. This painting shows a flower-studded apricot branch. The petals are more deeply colored around the edge to express the concavity of the petal. The dozens of flowers are ingeniously arranged in a variety of orientations, depths, densities and sizes.
source: The Art Book of Chinese Painting, published by Long River Press
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