Sketch of Rare Birds
3 min readPainter: Huang Quan
Painting Year: the Five Dynasties
Material: silk scroll
Dimension: vertical length of 41.5 centimeters and horizontal length of 70 centimeters
collection Place: the Palace Museum in Beijing
Sketch of Rare Birds was created by Huang Quan,a court painter serving in the Xishu Kingdom during the Five Dynasties. It was used as painting model for Huang Quan s son, which was informal artwork. This painting depicts more than 20 types of animal, such as sparrow, and other birds, cicada, grasshopper, bee and other insects, as well as turtle. These animals mostly exist independently without interaction and formal composition, but they have different postures, changing angles, varying sizes and natural beauty.
This artwork is outlined with thin line and applied with colors. It has refned style and brilliant color.
In the form, accurate similarity in the appearance and vivid quality are enphasized. In this artwork, all animals are true to life with subtle postures.
Art Master
Huang Quan
Huang Quan was a court painter serving in the Xishu Kingdom during the Five Dynasties, who was a native ofChengdu, Sichuan. He was good at painting of figure, painting of landscape and painting of fower and bird, in particular painting of fower and bird. His style is refned, neat and orderly with majesty atmosphere, which has far-reaching impact on following generations. Huang Quan created many artworks, but only Sketch of Rare Birds is kept up to now.
Brief Background
Applying colors to a drawing
Applying colors to a drawing is a commonly used technique in painting in elaborate style. In the coloration, two brushes should be held. One is coloration brush, and the other is clean brush. Coloration brush is frstly used for coloration, and then clean brush is used to expand the edge of colors so as to achieve even transition from dense color to light color.
Showcase Window
Painting of flower and bird
According to the themes, the traditional Chinese painting can fall into three categories: painting of fgure, painting of landscape and painting of flower and bird. Painting of flower and bird focuses on flowers, bamboo, stones and birds. According to the skills, painting of flower and bird can fall into”painting of flower and bird in elaborate style”and”painting of flower and bird in freehand style.”Painting of flower and bird in elaborate style features completeness, preciseness and refnedness.
Cicada has vivid form and quality.Semi-translucent wings are highlighted to the utmost extent.
Cicada falls in front of the Culver slightly opens The bee hasn’t held back the old turtle walks with difficulty compared with little sparrow spreads other cicada，which hasn’t mouth to warble.wings，which seems to look for light-footed little turtle.wings and opens mouth held back the wings.
to ask for food from big
on left side，a little sparrow spreads wings and opens mouth.on right side，a big sparrow holds back the wings and stands.Two birds standoppositely to echo.They are painted with sublet colors and super craftsmanship.Beak and claw are hard，and back feather is soft in vivid Anecdote .
Huang Quan made sketch with admirable skil
Huang Quan made sketch with super skills，and other people often took the false artwork for genuine one.
One day, Shuainan King sent many gifts (including six beautiful cranes alive) to the Xishu Kingdom. Meng Chang, emperor of the Xishu Kingdom, ordered Huang Quan to paint six cranes on palace wall. After Huang Quan carefully watched these cranes, he painted cranes with varying posture. After a while, several real cranes, fed in the court, flied to the wall. They believed these painted cranes were their friends, which were reluctant to leave. Meng Chang was amazed and called this side hall as”Six Crane Hall.”
Huang Quan once painted fower, bamboo, tree, pheasant, rabbit, birds and other aninals on the wall of Bagua Hall which was newly built in the Xishu Kingdom. When emperor of the Xishu Kingdom went hunting and returned with preys, his falcon mistook the pheasant for alive one, and rushed to the wall painting to grasp and peck.
Eye, mouth, wing and claw of are all outlined with thin ink line. Soft back feather is outline with thinmer ink line. After coloring in black color, white feather is seen on head and abdomen. The bird is refnedly and vividly portrayed.
