Artists › Painters and Calligraphers
Liu Songnian
Southern Song academy painter from Hangzhou, nicknamed Liu of the Dark Gate, one of the Four Masters of the Southern Song
A desk holds an unrolled sheet bearing three bold black ink strokes, with a rack of many brushes above it, a stone ink slab and ink stick, a porcelain bowl, a red lacquer box, a dish of red seal paste and a paperweight; a small seated figure shows through a round window onto bamboo.
Also known as Anmen Liu · Hao Qingbo
Liu Songnian lived by the Qingbo Gate of Hangzhou, popularly called the Dark Gate, and was nicknamed Liu of the Dark Gate. The Precious Mirror of Painting says he was a student at the painting academy in the Chunxi era, became painter-in-attendance in the Shaoxi era after studying under Zhang Dunli, and was given a gold belt by Emperor Ningzong for his pictures of Tilling and Weaving. He painted figures, landscapes and buildings with fine brushwork and bright colour. His three hanging scrolls of Arhats in Taipei include one dated 1207, and the Palace Museum, Beijing holds his Landscapes of the Four Seasons. He is counted with Li Tang, Ma Yuan and Xia Gui as one of the Four Masters of the Southern Song.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active from the Chunxi era into Ningzong's reign, died after 1225