Gong Xian
Gong Xian was a Chinese painter in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, one of the Eight Masters of Nanjing and the leading painter of the Nanjing school.
He was also known as Qixian, Banqian, Banmu and Yeyi ; Chaizhangren and Zhongshanyelao. He enjoyed equal popularity with the poet and calligrapher Lu Qian in the early Qing Dynasty. They were called "Two Ban of the World",.
Artistic career
Primarily a landscape painter, mountains were the subject of most of Gong Xian's paintings. Willows are also a common theme in his work.Gong Xian was a scholar loyal to the fallen Ming Dynasty. In the early years, he participated in the reunification activities. During the war in the late Ming Dynasty, he was forced to flee to save his life and drifted away. He spent many years at Yangzhou in exile, during which he continued to author anti-Qing works, and develop his characteristic "light Gong" and "dark Gong" styles.
Gong Xian was also one of the literati and known for his work with prose and poetry. It was only after the fall of Nanjing to the Qing that he took up professional painting as his primary means of making a living. However, despite painting several great pieces over his life, he ultimately died as he lived, in poverty.
Notable works
Painting
- Landscapes and trees
- Landscapes of the Twelve Months
- Dwelling among Mountains and Clouds
- Landscapes with Poems
- Landscapes with Poems
Poetry
- Plane
- Drinking in Xu's Garden
- Swallows to go east
Literary works
- Caoxiangtang Collection
- Painting Technique
- Chai Zhangren's Draft
- Gong Banqian's Paintings
- Poetry Meeting
- Banmu Garden Poetry Grass
- Banmu Garden Pond
- Midnight Tang Shi Ji