Yan Liben

Chinese painter

• Born: c. 600
• Birthplace: Wannian, Shaanxi Province, China
• Died: 673
• Place of death: Siking (now Xi'an), Shaanxi Province, China

Yan Liben introduced a new sense of realism to portrait painting, a genre that he did much to develop during the period of the Tang Dynasty.

Early Life

Yan Liben (yehn lee-behn) was born to a distinguished family of artist-officials. His father, Yan Pi (Yen P’i), was a famous Sui Dynasty (581-618) painter, calligrapher, and official, holding the title vice director of construction. Apparently, Yan Pi spent much time with his two sons, Lide (Li-te; c. 580-656) and Liben, training them in art and calligraphy. Liben’s older brother, Lide, rose to become president of the board of public works and held the title grand architect during the early years of the Tang Dynasty (T’ang; 618-907).

The first half of the Tang Dynasty is generally considered to be one of the two most glorious periods in Chinese history, the other being the Western Han (206 b.c.e.-23 c.e.). During the period between 618 and 750, the Tang rulers were committed patrons of the arts as well as conquerors who expanded China’s frontiers. By the end of the seventh century, the Chinese empire was one of the largest in world history. During the second half of the seventh century, moreover, the capital city, Siking (modern Xi’an), would become the most cosmopolitan city of its day and one of the most sophisticated cities of all time.

The first ruler, Li Yuan known to posterity as Gaozu (Kao-tsu, r. 618-626) rose to power primarily through the efforts of his young son, Li Shimin (Li Shih-min). The Li had been a powerful aristocratic family that had served the Sui but later joined in the rebellion against them. Led by Shimin, the Li family succeeded in ending the Sui Dynasty and eliminating other potential claimants to the Chinese throne. Just when it appeared that Li Yuan was about to choose a son other than Shimin to succeed him, the emperor suddenly became ill and died, and Shimin quickly ascended the throne in 627. Though his reign was relatively brief, ending in 649, it was an active and rich period in Chinese history, and Taizong (T’ai-tsung; r. 627-649), as Shimin would be called posthumously, is considered to have been one of the brightest and most capable rulers in Chinese history.

Even before becoming emperor, Li Shimin, who was then prince of Qin (Ch’in), surrounded himself with numerous scholars, poets, and painters, perhaps in anticipation of his ascension to the Dragon Throne. One of the people whom the future Taizong called on to serve him was the young Yan Liben. In 626, Yan was commissioned to paint a picture of eighteen famous scholars who had gathered at the prince’s palace five years before. Although a scroll titled The Eighteen Scholars at the Palace of Qin bearing Yan’s name is in the Taipei Palace Museum, most scholars agree that it is probably a Song Dynasty copy. The original was good enough to establish Yan Liben as one of China’s greatest portrait artists, with his speciality being the depiction of famous historical personages. In 642, for example, he was assigned to paint the official portraits of twenty-four meritorious officials, and these were then placed in a “hall of fame” situated in the palace. With these and several other works, Yan established himself as China’s first truly great portraitist.

Life’s Work

Of the paintings by Yan Liben that have survived, the most famous is probably the series depicting thirteen Chinese emperors, beginning with Han Wendi (Wen-ti, r. 180-157 b.c.e.) and ending with Sui Yangdi (Yang-ti, r. 604-617 c.e.). Located in the Chinese collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the first six that have survived are probably later copies, but the last seven are generally acknowledged to be by Yan himself. Clearly, Yan was able to capture the unique personalities of each of his subjects. Moreover, his limited use of color and his technique for drawing faces and setting them up with appropriate backgrounds established the guidelines for such painting in China. Many Chinese, Japanese, and Western art critics consider the Scroll of the Emperors to be among the greatest masterpieces in all Chinese art history.

Not all of Yan Liben’s works were devoted to historical portraiture. Although none of these works has survived, he painted Buddhist and Daoist subjects with such great mastery that the catalogs of imperial art holdings during the period of the Northern Song (Sung; 960-1126) mention numerous selections with religious motifs by Yan Liben. Another subject matter apparently popular with Yan was the depiction of tributary missions from “barbarian” lands. During the apogee of the Tang Dynasty (the years between 625 and 755), foreigners from all over the world came to China bearing tribute to the throne. These “exotics” came with great pomp and circumstance to Siking, bringing with them native goods. The “barbarians” would offer some of the goods to the emperor but would also trade other wares in Siking and other Chinese cities. On one occasion, on the request of Taizong in 635, Yan painted a lion brought as a tribute from Sogdiana. Several copies of barbarian-related paintings by Yan are located in the Beijing and Taipei palace museums. The tribute missions were important to the Tang emperors not so much because of any economic benefits the Chinese rulers would derive but more as a testament to the claim that the Chinese emperor ruled everyone “under Heaven.” Yan’s paintings were, therefore, valuable visual recordings of such events, and the Chinese ruler clearly prized them.

Taizong may have treated Yan Liben well, but there was no question that the artist was still not much more than a servant to the throne. On one occasion, it is said that while Yan was sweating and dirty, in the midst of painting, Taizong peremptorily summoned him to sketch an unusual bird that had settled onto a lake in front of the emperor. Perhaps because of this incident, Yan is reputed to have lamented that he was known “only by painting as if I were a menial.” He is said to have discarded his brushes in anger and counseled his sons not to pursue an artistic career. Recently, pointing to his later honors, scholars have expressed doubt regarding the accuracy of this anecdote. The fact is, however, that Chinese intellectuals made the distinction between scholars who painted as a hobby and those who did so for a living, with the latter class suffering in reputation. Unquestionably, most of Yan’s paintings were in fact court-commissioned works, and it may be that Yan was embarrassed by this.

Despite his purported chagrin, one of Yan’s greatest achievements is still another commissioned work. The earliest and probably best example of funerary sculpture in China is that of a set of bas-reliefs of Taizong’s six chargers that was based on Yan’s sketches. The Tang emperor was particularly fond of horses, and it is likely that he commissioned Yan to make a drawing of his horses to serve as the design for subsequent carving. Most art critics are in agreement that the reliefs are based on Yan’s drawings; thus, he can be credited with originating the finest stone sculpture work of the Tang. Four of the horses are in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum at Xi’an; the other two are at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia. It may also be that Yan painted some of the murals for Taizong’s mausoleum, but they are now lost. That Yan’s work was well received can be inferred from the fact that Yan himself is buried not far from the emperor’s tomb at Zhaoling (Chao-ling).

If Yan was humiliated by Taizong’s use of him principally as a painter, then he must have been more satisfied during the period after Taizong’s death in 649. Under the nominal rule of Emperor Gaozong (Kao-tsung; r. 650-683) in actuality power lay in the hands of Empress Wu Yan rose to important official positions. In 656, on the death of his brother, Yan Lide, Liben became president of the board of public works. Although this position did not carry with it much political power, it certainly was beyond the reach of all but a few of China’s scholar-official elite. In 668, Yan Liben became prime minister of the right (there were two prime ministers at the time), and in 670, he was appointed secretary general of the secretariat. It is possible, however, that despite these honors, the stigma of being a “commissioned painter” never quite left Yan, for a saying of that time derided the minister of the left as being incompetent and the minister of the right as getting his job through the use of “cinnabar and blue.”

In 673, Yan Liben died and was buried with the highest possible honors, obtaining the posthumous title of wen zhen, or “true scholar.” As noted above, his burial in the vicinity of Taizong’s tomb is an indication that he was highly respected by Empress Wu. Such honors were enough to guarantee wealth and prestige to the Li family for several generations, but none of his children or grandchildren enjoyed any particular fame. Perhaps they had heeded Yan’s admonition against pursuing a career in art. The legacy of Yan, however, has endured and grown.

Significance

Yan Liben was one of the great luminaries of the culturally resplendent Tang Dynasty. Perhaps in order to downplay the Tang imperial family’s Turkic and therefore “barbarian” origins, the imperial court tended to be a very active sponsor of the arts. Being great patrons of Chinese culture may have been an attempt to compensate somehow for such questionable heritage. During the early years, however, such support was not without limitations. The Tang rulers in particular Taizong handled Chinese artists and poets as if they were hirelings who were at the beck and call of the Dragon Throne. This must have rankled men of great artistic ability, and no doubt Yan must at least on occasion have felt maligned and insulted.

One wonders, however, whether Yan’s scholarship alone would have been enough to earn for him the very high official positions he attained. At the time he was being rewarded with such honors, the Chinese court, under Empress Wu’s prodding, was moving increasingly toward a very rationalized system of bureaucracy, one which rewarded scholarship and knowledge of the Confucian classics. There is no record or even indication that Yan was subjected to rigorous civil service examinations. One can therefore assume that Yan arose to his position primarily by virtue of his reputation as an artist. Being a commissioned painter, therefore, led to a career success that few other painters in Chinese history would enjoy.

It was court sponsorship that enabled Yan to paint and develop his unique style of portraiture, a style that would be emulated but not equaled by subsequent Chinese portrait painters. In several cases, it was also court action hat guaranteed that his works would survive. What the artist’s sensitivity could not well endure, his admirers, and those who are grateful that Yan’s works are still extant, can understand and forgive.

Bibliography

Cahill, James. T’ang, Sung, and Yuan. Vol. 1 in An Index of Early Chinese Painters and Paintings. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. Contains a lengthy list of paintings and other works by Yan Liben that are held in museums and private collections. Includes a twelve-page bibliography.

Loehr, Max. The Great Painters of China. New York: Harper and Row, 1980. Contains an excellent account of Yan Liben’s career together with several photographs of paintings and works that are attributed to him. Includes an index and a bibliography.

Sirén, Osvald. The First Millennium: Early Chinese Painting. Vol. 1 in Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles. 1956. Reprint. New York: Hacker Art Books, 1973. This volume, by a leading historian of Asian art, contains a glowing assessment of Yan’s work. Illustrated, with a bibliography.

Sullivan, Michael. The Arts of China. 4th ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. An overview of Chinese history that covers Yan Liben.

Waley, Arthur. An Introduction to the Study of Chinese Painting. 1958. Reprint. New York: AMS, 1979. Excellent discussion of Yan Liben and his impact on Chinese art. The volume contains forty-nine plates. Brief bibliography.