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Zhao Lingrang
Northern Song imperial clansman who painted quiet lakeside scenes, including Summer Mist Along the Lakeshore of 1100
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 Zi Danian
Zhao Lingrang, courtesy name Danian, was a fifth-generation descendant of the Song founder and an imperial clansman active under Emperors Shenzong and Zhezong; he rose to surveillance commissioner of the Chongxin army and was posthumously made Duke of Rong. As a clansman he seldom travelled far from the capital, and he painted small, quiet river scenes of sandbanks, waterbirds and misty trees. Mi Fu compared his snow scenes to those of Wang Wei. His handscroll Summer Mist Along the Lakeshore, dated 1100 and now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is accepted as a reliable work. The album leaf Oranges and Tangerines in the National Palace Museum in Taipei is ascribed to him.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active under Emperors Shenzong and Zhezong (1067-1100)