Shi Tao's Flower-and-Bird Paintings —— A Brief Introduction of Shi Tao, a painter in Qing Dynasty

Shi Tao's masterpiece of flower-and-bird painting

Formerly known as Zhu, according to legend, he was a member of the Ming Dynasty royal family. He was only three years old when the Ming Dynasty fell. Later, in order to protect himself, he had no choice but to enter the Buddha. From then on, he expressed the political attitude that the royal family and relatives of the Ming Dynasty no longer cared about the world. He is a famous painter who is good at painting and has dabbled in landscapes, flowers and birds. Among them, Shi Tao's flower-and-bird paintings, such as Song Qiu and Mohe, are his representative works.

Shitao flower-and-bird painting

Flower-and-bird painting does not refer to flowers and birds, and all kinds of animal and plant paintings can be called flower-and-bird painting. Although Shi Tao is not as famous as landscape painting, he has actually made very high achievements, such as Mohe. As the name implies, this painting is based on the lotus, but the lotus does not occupy the whole frame. Shi Tao's works include lotus leaf, arrowhead, lotus flower, cattail and so on.

The main body is a red-crowned crane with a slight bow and a peach with branches and leaves on its back. Unlike Moho, this painting doesn't have so many exotic scenery. The whole painting only supports the main body, but it will have a certain impact on the viewer's line of sight. The red-crowned crane spread its wings slightly, looked down at the peach under its feet and focused its eyes. The peach on the peach branch is not flat at all, but spreads its branches and leaves in the direction of the red-crowned crane in a positive attitude, which makes the crane and peach in this painting form a strong contrast in size, direction and action. This is a painting worthy of appreciation.

The biggest feature of Shi Tao's flower-and-bird painting is that his painting style is never restricted by others, which is a great thing in that era when ancient paintings were very fashionable.

Brief introduction of Qing Dynasty painter Shi Tao

Shi Tao, formerly known as Zhu Ruoji, is a descendant of the royal family Zhu in the Ming Dynasty. When the Ming Dynasty perished, the young Zhu Ruoji was taken out of the palace by eunuchs and had to find a temple to hide temporarily. His life has many names. His favorite name is Shi Tao, which is the most commonly used name. Shi Tao is his word for becoming a monk.

Shitao pictures

Shi Tao is a contradiction. He was originally a Buddhist disciple. He feels at ease in purity, but he likes liveliness. He went to Beijing many times, trying to make friends with court dignitaries. Because of his identity, no one in the court dared to go near him. He is a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, but he took his car twice during his private visit to the south. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, many people opposed the Qing Dynasty, which was well known all over the world. As a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, Shi Tao did not participate in the anti-Qing Dynasty.

Shi Tao's greatest achievement in his life is painting. His works are full of tension, grandeur, similarity and extraordinary. He has a wide range of subjects and is good at landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, and animals. He especially likes Huangshan Mountain, flowers and birds, and he loves lotus flowers. Almost all his paintings are poetic. He combined poetry, calligraphy and painting perfectly. At the same time, his works are not restricted by sects, and he integrates hundreds of painting techniques to become a great painter.

Shi Tao's early works are mostly imitations, while his middle-aged works are mostly innovations, learning from each other's strengths, and his later works reach perfection. He thinks that painting should pay attention to the whole and not dwell on the details. His idea of "one painting" has a great influence on later painting.

Shi Tao's brief introduction to Dachuan is related to his works, but not much about himself.

Lotus in Shi Tao's paintings

Shi Tao, a former royal aristocrat, is now a Buddhist disciple. Lotus is of special significance to Shi Tao. Many Buddhist works are related to lotus flowers. Lotus is generally called lotus. Bodhisattva sits on the lotus, or steps on it with both feet, or holds it in his hand or puts it in a clean bottle. Lotus is fragrant and light, and it doesn't stick to mud. No flower in the world can be loved by immortals, except lotus.

Tao's "He Shou Qian Chun"

Shi Tao is a great painter. Let's start with the lotus in his painting. He has many works with lotus as the theme. Some are just lotus leaves, some are lotus flowers, and some are lotus flowers and birds. All kinds of styles are dazzling. For example, in Mohe, the branches, leaves and lotus leaves of Lagerstroemia indica are all black or gray, the aquatic plants are looming in the water, and the purple flowers and lotus flowers are unique. Shi Tao's specially selected red highlights its uniqueness, and purple flowers and lotus flowers complement each other. That is, the ink color range is wide, and the large ink is too thick to melt. They can't tell where lotus flowers and lotus leaves come from. After careful analysis, they have to admire Shi Tao's boldness and atmosphere in using ink. Some lotus flowers have different shapes, and some are in bud; Some are already in full bloom; Some are slim and stand at the top; Some still hide half a face in front of us behind her guitar, submerged under the lotus leaf, with different shapes, and some are all open; Some are half-open; Some are curly; Some only painted more than half. Lotus leaves are layered, seemingly disorderly, but actually interesting.

Shi Tao also wrote lotus poems, such as Lotus, Lotus Wei Zi Tu, Graphite, Hu Cheng Lu Hua Tu, Lotus Lotus and so on. Most of these poems are paintings, expressing the thoughts of painters at that time.