Gong Kai - Zhong Kui Traveling with his Sister

Attributed to Gong Kai (1222-1304), this painting presents a different illustration of the famous folk story than the one in the Freer Gallery collection (Picture). The figures are rendered with the customary distortions and an impressive degree of animation, conveying beautifully the chaotic movement of the group. With its harmonious blending of realistic and fantastic elements in a poetic landscape setting, this unique Chinese 'storytelling' style also evokes later Japanese painting. (Click on the pictures to enlarge them).

Ma Hezhi - Four Immortals

Attributed to Ma Hezhi (Southern Song Dynasty - Active c. 1127-90), this painting on silk is about a third the size of a Ming Dynasty version by Shang Xi (active c. 1430-60) exhibited at the Taiwan National Palace Museum (Picture). Shang Xi was a court painter who copied works by Song Dynasty masters. The painting depicts four immortals, including Liu Hai sitting on his three-legged toad, and the God of Longevity flying on the back of a stork. While the attribution to Ma Hezhi is far-fetched, this painting could be an honest copy, with the brushwork exhibiting some of Ma's characteristic variations in hand pressure, notably in the clothing of the four figures.

Lin Liang - Two Hawks in Winter

Together with Shen Zhou, Xu Wei, Dong Qichang and Chen Hongshou, Lin Liang (1416-1480) was among the Ming Dynasty painters who exerted a strong influence on Bada Shanren. Particularly notable here is the highly contrasted, quasi abstract, brushwork.

Compare this painting to Hawks in winter, Two Hawks in a Thicket and Two Eagles