Artistic career

Primarily a landscape painter, mountains were the subject of most of Gong Xian's paintings. Willows are also a common theme in his work.

Gong Xian was a scholar loyal to the fallen Ming Dynasty. In the early years, he participated in the reunification activities. During the war in the late Ming Dynasty, he was forced to flee to save his life and drifted away. He spent many years at Yangzhou in exile, during which he continued to author anti-Qing works, and develop his characteristic "light Gong" and "dark Gong" styles.

Gong Xian was also one of the literati and known for his work with prose and poetry. It was only after the fall of Nanjing to the Qing that he took up professional painting as his primary means of making a living. However, despite painting several great pieces over his life, he ultimately died as he lived, in poverty.

Notable works

Painting

• Landscapes and trees

• Landscapes of the Twelve Months

• Dwelling among Mountains and Clouds

• Landscapes with Poems

• Landscapes with Poems

Poetry

• Plane

• Drinking in Xu's Garden

• Swallows to go east

Literary works

• Caoxiangtang Collection

• Painting Technique

• Chai Zhangren's Draft

• Gong Banqian's Paintings

• Poetry Meeting

• Banmu Garden Poetry Grass

• Banmu Garden Pond

• Midnight Tang Shi Ji

Character Memorial

The word "Qingliangshan" on the stone plaque in the middle of the gate of Soyelou was written by Gong Xian. The Memorial Hall was built on the southwest side of Qingliang Mountain. Regarding the origin of the name of the Saoye Tower, there are historical records in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Gong Xian once made a self-portrait. In this painting, he turned into a monk who was sweeping leaves, which was named the Saoye Tower. The building was destroyed by fire in the Qing Dynasty. In 1889, at the edict of Emperor Guangxu, the building was rebuilt, and it was rebuilt twice in 1901 and 1914.

生平

龚贤早年迁居南京，曾参加复社活动，南京被清朝军队占领后在江南等地流浪20年。50岁以后回到南京，隐居清凉山，筑半亩园，建扫叶楼。

艺术成就

其书法师承米芾，自成一体。著有《香草堂集》。其画以山水画为主，远宗董源、近宗沈周，能自辟蹊径；善用墨，层层渍染，浓郁苍润，而稍缺乏秀韵；著有《画诀》、《柴丈人画稿》、《半亩园诗》等。

延伸阅读