According to the records of painting history, the overall development of this painting discipline in the late Tang Dynasty was relatively early, and the situation was not as hot as before; although the painters who were known for their unique skills were quite human and not as outstanding as before, they still had high reputations. One of the more dazzling performances is the painting of cattle. Notable painters include:
Dai Song
Dai Song, which is slightly mentioned in the Records of Famous Paintings of past Dynasties, the Catalogue of Famous Paintings of the Tang Dynasty, the Xuanhe Painting Notation, the Guangchuan Paintings, the Dongpo Zhilin, and the Eight Notes of Zunsheng. The year of his birth and death is unknown, but his activities were around the first year of Emperor Dezong's reign (785-804 AD). When Han Dizhen was guarding Zhejiang's right, Dai Song served as an inspector under him, so he studied under Han Di. In the Xuanhe Pictorial Notation, he is said, "Shi Jiao's paintings are not as good as those of cattle, and they are far more than cattle; as for Tianjia Kawahara, they are all exquisite." It can be seen that he studied painting with Han Di, and most of the skills could not exceed the teacher, only the painting of cattle could be blue, famous and contemporary, and alone in the late Tang Dynasty.
Dai Song's artistic achievement in painting cattle, like Han Gan's painting of horses in the middle period, has two meanings: First, the achievement of the work itself, his paintings can do the magic of the wild bones of the cow, and also show the beauty of Tian Jia Chuanyuan, that is, to be able to grasp the true feelings of Xiao Xiao. There is a chronicle in the "Hirokawa Painting" that says:
Dai Song paints cattle, gets its sex at the end, the painting records to the cow and the shepherd boy to dot the finishing touch, the circle is contrasted, see the description of the eye, to drink the water, then the floating scenery to see the cow's lips and nose connected.
The same statement is also found in the articles of Mi Fu's Zhilin and others. It shows that his painting observes a subtle, realistic and realistic situation, which reflects the realistic view of Tang Dynasty painting in pursuit of real nature. The second is that the painting he is engaged in, because he has received a high degree of recognition in art, coupled with the same outstanding performance of other painters such as Han Di in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, jointly established the unshakable position in the history of this painting school, and even the Northern Song Dynasty people who reached the peak of realism sighed to themselves and became the object of competition among painters of later eras.
Dai Song's "Cattle Herding Picture Page", Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Dai Song's works have been handed down, and the Northern Song Dynasty Huizong Emperor Huizong collected his paintings, counting as many as thirty-eight pieces, each with the titles of the paintings: "Chunpi Cattle Herding Map", "Spring Scenery Cattle Herding Map", "Cow Herding Map", "Crossing Buffalo Map", "Returning To The Cow Map", "Drinking Water Cow Diagram", "Out of the Buffalo Diagram", "Dairy Cow Diagram", "Playing Cow Diagram", "Running Bull Diagram", "BullFighting Diagram", "Calf Diagram", "Yiniu Diagram", "Buffalo Diagram", "White Bull Diagram", "Crossing Water Herding Cattle", etc., almost all of the works are cattle, showing that the cow is indeed a theme that he loves and concentrates on.
As for the works circulating today, there are many works such as the "Bullfighting Diagram" volume, the "Drawing of the Bull" axis, the "Cow Drawing", the "Cattle Herding Picture" album (the above collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei), the "Shepherd Boy Diagram" volume (from the Collection of the Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan), the scroll of the "CattleFly Museum of Art" (from the Collection of the Furrell Museum of Art in Washington, D.C.), the album of "The Cowfly Drawing" (from the collection of the Izumitsu Museum in Tokyo, Japan), and the "Guimutu" (from the collection of the Museum of East Asian Art in Berlin, Germany).
Tang Dynasty Dai Song's "Cow Map" partial color
21.4×45.9cm Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
The album "Drawings of Cows" collected by the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the scene of mother and son and two cows, resting and eating grass, the painting image is mediocre, the pen and ink are weak, not like the degree of Dai Song's painting skills, it is difficult to get rid of the suspicion of falsification. "Bullfighting Diagram" short volume, on paper, ink drawing method. The scene of the content painting fighting is completely similar to the "YiNiu Tu" of Dai Yi in the collection of the hospital, but the pen and ink expression is far from the same, and it seems that it should be a copy of the latter thing, impersonating the person who pretends to be Dai Song's name. Therefore, for this famous painter of the Tang Dynasty, without seeing his real works, it is difficult to judge his painting art and aesthetic value.
Dai Yi
Dai Yi, the matter is slightly found in the "Records of Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties" and "Xuanhe Painting Notation". He was the younger brother of Dai Song, who could pass on his brother's learning, and was also named for painting cattle. The Xuanhe Pictorial Notation commented on his paintings, saying that he liked to paint the situation of cows running.
His works have been handed down, and the Northern Song Dynasty Huizong Inner House has collected five pieces, each of which is "Pine Stone Cattle Herding Map", "Flat Slope Dairy Cow Map", "Yi Niu Tu", "BullFighting Diagram" and "Running Bull Diagram". There are three works circulating today.
Tang Dynasty Dai Yi "Yi Niu Tu" ink 31.2×48.7cm
Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
"Yi Niu Tu", now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. For the second opening of the "Merlin Extract Book" in the collection, the painting is on silk, 31.2 cm high and 48.7 cm wide, ink painting. The content depicts two buffaloes fighting each other, a bull with a horn arriving, and a cow running away, which is in line with the characteristics of the history of painting that he likes to paint the dynamics of the cow. This painting is exactly the same as the above-mentioned Dai Song's "Bullfighting Diagram". However, comparing the two paintings, whether the pen and ink are exquisite, the expression is vivid, and the tension and momentum in the painting, this painting is far superior to Dai Song's "Bullfighting Diagram". At the same time, examining the buffalo's painting style and the shape and posture of The Jiaojian Qigu, it seems that it will not be later than the Song Dynasty. Therefore, it is speculated that both figures may be copied according to the same work, or that Dai Yi's painting is the original facsimile, and Dai Song's "Bullfighting Diagram" is based on Dai Yi's painting. Moreover, even if the original work is not Dai Yi's work, it should be from the Handiwork of the Tang Dynasty who is good at mastering the characteristics of cattle nature, which can also provide a reference for appreciating the artistic characteristics of tang dynasty cattle painting.
Dai Yi's surviving paintings, as well as two volumes: the "Hundred Cows" and the "Heron Pictures", are in the collections of the Kyoto National Museum and the Fukuoka City Museum of Art, Japan.