Nymph of the Luo River
2 min readPainter: Gu Kaizhi
Painting Year: the Eastern Jin Dynasty
Material: silk scroll
Dimension: vertical length of 27.1 centimeters of and horizontal length of 572.8 centimeters Collection Place: the Palace Museum in Beijing.
ThelNymph of the Luo River was created by Gu Kaizhi,a great painter in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, according to Cao Zhi’s literary masterpiece0de to the Nymph of the Luo River. This artwork makes a vivid and affectingdepiction of the story about original ode in the form of long scroll through affuent artistic imaginations.
The story plot of the painting develops from right to left and the images of Cao Zhi and the Nymph of the LuoRiver repeatedly appears in different parts of the painting. The painting shows the beauty of the Nymph of the Luo River, as well as Cao Zhi’s admiration for her and his melancholy resulted from his unfulflled wish. The picture has bright colors and a simple style with exquisite manifestations of characters and their personalities. The stones, trees, mountains and water that serve as the foils divide the story of the picture and simultaneously highlight the circumstance of the picture.
The original copy of the Nymph of the Luo River has been lost. What you see now is the facsinile painted in the Song Dynasty.
Brief Background
The Long Scroll
The Chinese painting painted on the silk and rice paper is called”scroll”if the painting’s”vertical length”is shorter than its”horizontal length”and the picture can be rolled up. otherwise, the painting is called”long scroll”if its”horizontal length”is particularly long.
