Night-Shining White

"Night-Shining White" (Chinese: 照夜白圖) is a monochrome ink-on-paper painting by the Chinese artist Han Gan. It is an example of Tang dynasty painting, created in the middle of the 8th century (circa 750). The work depicts a cavalry horse owned by the Emperor Xuanzong (reign 712–56) of the Tang dynasty, tethered to a post. It is considered one of the greatest equine portraits in Chinese painting. It was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1977. In his time, Han Gan was considered one of the leading artists of China. Originally from a poor family, Han Gan was working in a wine shop in the capital Chang'an when his artistic talent was spotted by the painter and poet Wang Wei, and he became an artist at the imperial court. He was famous for being able capture the character of a horse as well as its physical appearance. European art historians often note the conventionality of the drawings of Han Gan and other representatives of Chinese painting and see this as a significant difference in Chinese animalistics from works depicting animals created by European artists. By order of Emperor Xuanzong, Han Gan created a series of "portraits" of famous horses, and this work may originally have been just one of a series of paintings. Many of the original paintings have not survived, but they are known through copies made in subsequent centuries. The work is an example of bai hua or "white painting", a monochrome work created using a brush and black ink, with economy of line and some simple shading but no colours. The composition is based on earlier works of Chinese art, but despite its limited materials, "Night-Shining White" does not lose its spirituality and restless energy. The painting shows Han Gan's close observation of the subject: in conversation with...