The Song dynasty is known especially for the development of monumental landscape painting.
960 - 1279
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The art of salvation—Mt. Baoding, Dazu rock carvings
The monumental sculptural complex at Mt. Baoding, Dazu in China consists of nearly 10,000 painted and gilded images of Buddhist deities and narrative scenes carved out of sandstone.
Master of the (Fishing) Nets Garden
Every inch of this contemplative space was carefully crafted—there’s bamboo, patterned paving, and scholar’s rocks.
Liang Kai, Poet Strolling by a Marshy Bank
The subject is conventional, but Liang Kai’s airy composition makes this painting unusual. What’s behind the mist?
Neo-Confucianism and Fan Kuan, Travelers by Streams and Mountains
This monumental landscape is the most majestic example of early Song “mountain water” painting.
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