Xiao Yuncong
Founded Gushu school, elegant sparse landscapes
Xiao Yuncong(蕭雲從) (1596–1673), courtesy name Chimu(尺木), also known as Yuhu Laoren(於湖老人), Wumen Daoren(無悶道人), and Mosi(默思), was from Wuhu, Anhui. He was a painter at the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Qing dynasty, and the founder of the Gushu school of painting. His father Xiao Shenyu was a respected local figure in Ming times and skilled in painting. Yuncong inherited the family tradition from a young age and devoted himself to painting. In the 11th year of Chongzhen (1638), he and his younger brother Yunqian joined a literary society and got involved in opposition against the eunuch faction. After the fall of the Ming dynasty, he retired from official duties, stayed at home reading, writing poetry, and painting, or traveling to famous mountains and rivers. His landscape paintings incorporated techniques from Song and Yuan masters, creating a unique style that was clear, sparse, and elegant. His representative work, "Taiping Landscape Series," consists of 43 pieces depicting real scenery from Wuhu, Dangtu, and Fanchang. In figure painting, he followed Li Gonglin’s line-drawing methods while incorporating strengths from Chen Hongshou, creating precise and lively images. He produced 64 pieces for the "Li Sao Series," which Emperor Gaozong of Qing ordered to be completed and re-carved by court aides. In the first year of Kangxi (1662), he painted murals of the four famous mountains at Caishi Ji Taibai Tower. In his later years, he guided the blacksmith Tang Tianchi in creating iron paintings. His artistic style directly influenced early Qing painter Hong Ren and helped establish a Gushu school lineage centered around the Xiao family members Yiyang, Yijian, Yiji, Yiyun, as well as Huang Ji, Shi Changchun, and Shi Daoguang. He authored "Meihuatang Yigao." His works are now housed in the Palace Museum and Anhui Provincial Museum. He was buried at Yanjia Mountain in western Wuhu.