The aesthetic significance of clothing in pictures of ladies wearing hairpins

It is currently the only authentically handed down copy of Tang Dynasty lady paintings in the world. In addition to its uniqueness, its artistic value is also very high. It is a typical painting of a lady in the Tang Dynasty and can represent the realism style of the Tang Dynasty. The painting describes the daily life of aristocratic women in the Tang Dynasty, which shows that the social politics of the Tang Dynasty were relatively open, so works that reflect real life can be passed down. This period was also the beginning of the expression style of Chinese realistic figure painting, while most of the previous paintings were historical and religious figures.

The long gauze skirts and floral buns of the palace maids were the most popular costumes at that time. The high buns were fashionable with big peonies on the top and jasmine flowers on the bottom. Against the background of the black hair, they looked elegant and bright. The characters are mainly described with gossamer strokes. The strokes are light, soft, and even, and especially with the help of color, the texture of gauze and skin is successfully displayed. The artist applied light colors to the gauze on the arms, which is darker than the exposed skin but lighter than the gauze. It perfectly reproduces the smooth skin and transparent gauze, conveying a soft and tranquil beauty. Judging from the large number of pottery figurines unearthed from the Middle and Late Tang Dynasties, the costumes of the ladies in the paintings truly reflect the female fashion culture at that time. The shapes of the paintings and figurines all present the same aesthetic orientation and spiritual outlook.