Analysis on the Maidens Painting in The Tang Dynasty: Taking Mrs. Guoguo’s Outing in Spring as An Example

Abstract

Maidens painting is an art genre that became prevalent during the Han-Wei dynasties. However, it was not until later in Tang that the genre prospered. This paper examines the much-recognized artwork, Mrs. Guoguo’s Outing in Spring, painted by Zhang Xuan, and lists out analysis from multiple perspectives, including the usage of colors, the visual balance of the artwork, and the choices of attires of the figures. To list a few characteristics of the painting, viewers can see that the arrangement of figures in the artwork is not balanced when viewed from both sides. However, the painting still displays excellent symmetry. The accumulation of colors, known as “ji se ti” and women’s choice of wearing men’s clothing are other features of the artwork. In this paper, multiple theoretical sources have been adopted to assist parts of the analysis. To sum up, the painting was inherited from its pre-descendants and influenced other artists in the same era as Zhang Xuan and the later generations. Most importantly, the art genre was not limited only to the border of China but has also passed on its traditions towards arts overseas.