Han Gan
Pioneered realistic Tang horse paintings
Han Gan(韩幹) (around 706–783) was a painter during the Tang Dynasty, from Lantian in Jingzhao (now Lantian, Shaanxi). He once served as a court artist. He was famous for painting horses, but he was also good at painting people, ghosts, flowers, and bamboo. He studied under Cao Ba and Chen Hong and pioneered a method of studying real horses to paint from life. This led to a new style of depicting horses that were plump and calm. Some of his representative works include "Zhaoye Bai Tu" and "Mu Ma Tu." He grew up poor and once worked at a tavern, but he received support from Wang Wei to study painting for over ten years. Later, he worked in the palace, often staying in the stables to observe the imperial horses in detail, breaking away from the old style that overemphasized muscles and bones. His paintings paid a lot of attention to the anatomy, fur color, and even the time of day and direction. "Zhaoye Bai Tu," now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the U.S., shows Emperor Xuanzong’s beloved horse raising its head and neighing. "Mu Ma Tu," housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, depicts two horses, one black and one white, walking side by side, with an inscription by Emperor Huizong of Song saying "Han Gan’s genuine work." The "Xuanhe Huapu" notes that he "developed his own unique style," and Su Shi commented, "Han Sheng paints horses that truly look like horses." His works had a lasting influence on later generations.