The Iconology Study Of Luoshen Appraisal Painting Collected By The Palace Museum

Luoshen Appraisal Painting has drawn more and more attention of experts and researchers since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Scholars have expressed their ideas about the time of its creation, the authorship of the painting, and the copy of it, but their ideas differ from one another. This thesis discusses the art value and significance of the Luoshen Appraisal painting in fine art history. The thesis concludes that it is not doubtful that the original of the painting is created by one painter, and it shows a vivid painting style of the Wei-Jin-South-North Period. It must be created by a greater master even if it was not created by Gu Kaizhi.Through an iconological study of the Song-dynasty copy of Luoshen appraisal Painting, we can find that painting at that time sought after not only "character", but also rich, deep and heavy social significance. The founding of aesthetic characters of painting in Wei-Jin-South-North Period is based on the artistic evolvement of the preceding dynasties. When the achievement in painting in Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasties congregated in the special period of Wei and Jin, it is quite natural that Chinese painting transformed and leapt through a combined influence of social, political, ideological and artistic factors. The forward leap of Chinese painting during this time period is dramatically marked by the transformation from prior spontaneity to modern consciousness.The overall structure of the Luoshen Appraisal Painting not only gets rid of the "clumsiness"of arrangement of images in former dynasties, making its density proper and tortuous, but also manages to enhance the artistic effects through building of rich and complex atmosphere. Luoshen Appraisal Painting pays much attention to characters' spiritual world. It made innovations not only in the techniques of character-drawing, but also in the techniques of drawing mountains and stones, trees, clouds and water. The Gao-gu-you-si drawing applied in Luoshen Appraisal Painting laid a foundation for many Chinese painting drawing methods and made great contribution to enriching the forms and expressiveness of Chinese paintings. Seeking after a natural beauty was becoming fashionable in the Wei-Jin-South-North Period because of a self awakening. It is self-evident that the Luoshen Appraisal Painting sets a model through portrait of ''Luoshen's fascination" and expression of artistic concept of mountain and water. The creation of Luoshen Appraisal Painting is a landmark for the transformation of Chinese painting from a subordinative political and instructive position as well as ritual practical function to self-conscious aestheticism.