Li Cheng
0919–0967 · Chinese landscape painter of the Five Dynasties and early Song period
Li Cheng (919-967) was a Chinese painter who worked between the end of the Five Dynasties and the early Song dynasty. Born in Qingzhou, now part of Weifang in Shandong province, he is regarded as one of the great landscape painters of his time, and his influence reached later generations of artists.
He came from a family known for scholarship and official conduct. He learned painting from Jing Hao and Guan Tong before turning to direct observation of nature and developing a style of his own. He also wrote poetry and literary prose, though he considered these secondary pursuits, and he never accepted a government post, even though many nobles sought his services. In his later years he travelled often and died in Huaiyang County.
His most recognisable trait is the use of very diluted ink in graded tones, a technique called "treating ink like gold", which gives his landscapes a misty, almost dreamlike look. He painted mainly the landscapes of Shandong, and in his own day he was considered the greatest landscape painter of all time. Together with Fan Kuan and Guan Tong he became known as the "three great rival artists". His paintings also carried on an artistic dialogue with those of Wu Daoxuan. Works attributed to him include "Cold crow", and one surviving painting, "Reading Stele Nest Stone", was made in collaboration with Wang Xiao. Later artists such as Guo Xi modelled their teaching on his methods, which explains his weight in the tradition of Chinese landscape.
Works (2)
This ink-on-silk painting shows a solitary Buddhist temple set among peaks that gradually emerge from the mist. The attribution to Li Cheng and the date of around 1100 are given in the record, though they should be read with some caution. The scene invites a slow contemplation of the landscape, in which the architecture barely stands out against the mountains.
Where to see the work
- The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Kansas City · 1
- Liaoning Provincial Museum Shenyang · 1
Curiosities
A coveted painting
The official Sun Anzhi wanted a painting by Li Cheng so badly that he offered him a prestigious government post, but the painter refused. Sun then paid an acquaintance of Li to steal a painting, and the affront left the artist with an enmity that lasted his whole life.
Ghosts as the easiest subject
The thinker Han Fei, from the Warring States period, argued that ghosts and demons were the easiest subjects to paint, because with no real model it was impossible to compare the likeness with reality. The remark helps explain that early Chinese painting aimed above all at a resemblance to the real world.