Karst in Art, Part I

Karst landscapes are among the most dramatic and inspiring on Earth, and China may have the greatest percentage of karst land area of any country. The painting A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, by prodigy Wang Ximeng (1096-1119) - when he was only 18 - is considered one of the greatest Chinese works of art*, and is certainly one of the largest at 1191.5cm  x 51.5cm.  That is just about 40 feet wide; so large that unless you can see it in person at the Palace Museum, Beijing, only a video such as this (by TheRestfulWind) can even begin to do it justice.

And in case you are wondering how much artistic license is represented in this painting, compare it to these actual photos of karst along the Li River in Guilin, southeast China.  Even the surreal blue shading in Wang Ximeng's masterpiece is evident in some of the background peaks in these photos.

 

(photo by Nico Goldscheider)

 

(photo by Alberto Rigamonti)

And now, I will ask art lovers to donate and support our work.  Thanks!

*Cahill, J., & Hung, W. (1997). Three thousand years of Chinese painting. Yale University Press.