The Artistic Characteristics Of Frescoes In The Later Period Of Xixia Dynasty

This article presents a detailed investigation of the artistic features of the frescoes in the later period of Xixia dynasty based on the examples of the following caves:the 2nd,3rd and the 29th caves of Yulin and the 2nd cave of Dong Qian Fo Dong grottoes from the perspective of the political,economical,and cultural development before and after the establishment of Xixia dynasty.There are five prominent artistic features of the frescoes in the later of Xixia dynasty as follows:the inheritance of both the Han nationality Buddhism and Tibet Buddhism in the motifs and schemes,including a few characteristics of Dangxiang nationality;the obvious religious features of the composition demonstrated by the overall arrangement of frescoes in the grottoes;the brief and complex features in specific schemes;as far as the line of the pictures is concerned,there are the comprehensive use and improvement of the literary figures of the central part of China in their artistic achievement and the combination of Tibetan iron line style in its strength and smoothness;in colour,there are the sparse and brief features in pictures by the literary figures of the central part of China and their artistic style and taste,meanwhile,there are also the Tibetan styles in its thick and contrastive colour use. Based on the five features mentioned above,the frescoes in the later Xixia dynasty formed a unique feature representing the quality of Dangxiang nationality art.The frescoes in the later period of Xixia dynasty is the good model of the spirits of the literary figures of the central part of China in their artistic achievement and the combination of the religious mystery and strangeness.