Gu Luo (“Goo Lu-o”), 1763–after 1837
Painting a Portrait of Yang Guifei
Fan painting, ink and color on paper; 7 x 21.42 in.
Collection of Roy and Marilyn Papp, courtesy of Phoenix Art Museum
Description
Yang Guifei was a notorious consort of Emperor Ming Huang (r. 712–755) of the Tang dynasty (618–906). Renowned for her beauty, she was blamed for the emperor’s inattention to matters of state, which led to a disastrous rebellion in 755. She fled the capital with the emperor but was killed by his men as they traveled in exile. Gu Luo’s painting suggests the beauty and vanity of Yang Guifei while hinting at the events to come through the tremulous brushstrokes of the rocks and trees.
Community Response by Yang Geng
“Yang Guifei was one of the most famous female figures in Chinese history. This painting displays a scene of the relaxing time between the emperor and his wife. The emperor and his empress are shown enjoying relaxing and chatting in the garden.”
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1. Deniece Schow said on Wednesday September 19, 2007
I am coming on Thurs. 9/26- looking forward to seeing (in person) this exhibit (from Chatt)! Started becoming an artist myself while recovering from an operation and have found myself absorbing art at a very fast rate using pen/ink and also pastels. Art is very healing and one of my students here at the Baylor School has shown me some of the symbolism in these pictures (he’s a boarder from China.) One of the things that he said that I remember most is that Chineese think that a bird symbolizes everything that needs to be- that it is perfect in its being. Thanks, Deniece Schow