Gu Kaizhi

Gu Kaizhi was a fourth-century Chinese painter and art theorist, celebrated for figure painting and writings on how portraits reveal character through the eyes.

Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies: A handscroll illustrating courtly admonitions, preserved in a later copy traditionally attributed to Gu Kaizhi. This celebrated scroll embodies the narrative figure painting associated with his legacy.
Eastern Jin dynasty: A Chinese dynasty that ruled southern China from 317 to 420. Gu’s career unfolded at its court, amid elite patronage and political upheaval.
Xie He: A sixth-century Chinese painter and critic who formulated the Six Principles of painting. His later criticism helped shape the standards through which Gu’s art was discussed.
Portrait painting: The practice of depicting identifiable individuals through visual likeness and selected features. Gu’s portrait theory addresses how likeness can communicate more than outward appearance.
Chinese art historiography: The writing and interpretation of the history of Chinese art and its artists. Later histories made Gu a foundational painter despite the loss of securely authenticated works.
Nymph of the Luo River: A handscroll depicting Cao Zhi’s poetic encounter with the spirit of the Luo River, known through later copies. Its flowing figures and episodic composition are central to the tradition surrounding Gu’s art.
Chinese figure painting: A Chinese painting tradition centered on human figures, often in narrative, historical, or religious scenes. Gu is a foundational figure in the early history of this tradition.
Zhang Yanyuan: A ninth-century Chinese art historian who compiled accounts of painters and painting in Records of Famous Paintings Through the Ages. His writings transmit key biographical and critical traditions about Gu.
Chinese brushwork: The controlled use of a brush to form lines and marks in Chinese painting and calligraphy. Gu’s reputation rests partly on expressive line that gives figures movement and presence.
Copying in Chinese painting: The transmission of paintings through deliberate copying, often preserving compositions across generations. Copies became the principal means by which works attributed to Gu survived.

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