Merchants Of Yangzhou School Study Art Patronage Motives

In a manner of speaking, the period of Ming and Qing Dynasties have epitomized the traditional Chinese art, During which Yangzhou painting faction is very remarkable undoubtedly. The group rose abruptly and grew increasingly; its significance goes well beyond creating a new artistic style or concept. It was formed from a period of transition, in which art was converted from the traditional model to a business one, namely the modern mode. Counting from1723in which the eldest artist of the school, Huayan, came to Yangzhou, until1796in which the youngest recruit, Luoping, was died here, this period of seventy years was exactly the time during which commodity economy of Yangzhou was highly developed. There have been a number of powerful businessmen who are very rich and also interested in art, the main group among them was salt merchant from Huizhou. As it were, these Huizhou merchants have made tremendous contributions in history of Chinese art patronage.This article takes a view of art history on the perspective of art patrons rather than artists themselves, and intends to study art sponsorship of Huizhou merchants to Yangzhou school into a broader macroeconomic context. As a starting point, it focuses on art sponsorship of Huizhou merchants. By means of investigating the social background of Yangzhou painting faction, and Huizhou merchants’own conditions as patrons, analyzing their specific patronage behavioral pattern, the essay tries to achieve a complete analysis of art sponsorship of Huizhou merchants in both macro and micro levels. It’s also compared with other patrons in art history, such as ancient Chinese provider and western Medici family, to profoundly grasp behavior characteristics of Huizhou merchants’art sponsorship. It tries to explore the significance of this phenomenon in art economic history, so that we can reveal the intention and motives of Huizhou merchants.