Work of classic Ming and Qing dynasty artists shows profile expertise, Lin Qi reports. 

In some ways it is a new era of art. It may not measure up to the glory of, say, the Renaissance or Impressionism, but taking good selfies is nonetheless a new form of art for people in the digital age.

Of course, centuries ago, owning a portrait was considered a luxury and a sign of ostentatious wealth. Only people from high society and well-to-do families could afford it.

Lifelike as Reflections in the Mirror, an exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, shows portraiture from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

The exhibition, running through Jan 16, brings together ink-color figure paintings from the assemblies of the National Art Museum and Nanjing Museum in Jiangsu province.

Classic Chinese portraiture was a way to pay respect and to educate people on social norms and courtesies, says Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum.

"Portraits reflect one's physical features and, at the same time are a snapshot of the times showing traces of history. They help people understand the changes of the world."

The earliest known examples of Chinese portraiture include two silk paintings unearthed in separate tombs from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). They depict the side profile of a man riding a dragon and a woman with a phoenix and a dragon. The two works were created for a funeral and were held up in front of the subjects' coffins. They were meant to bring comfort to the deceased, and accompany them into the afterlife.

The Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties witnessed a boom in art, including the birth of great figure paintings and painters specializing in the genre.

And yet, it was not until the beginning of the Ming Dynasty that portraiture, previously confined to royal circles, and high-ranking officials, gradually became popular among government officials of lower ranks, landlords and businessmen and their families.

"Portraiture reached a peak during the Tang Dynasty, when painters achieved excellence in lifelike profiles and were able to reveal the temperament and mentality of their subjects. The standards and formats being established continued into the Song and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties," says Gong Liang, director of the Nanjing Museum.

He says flourishing commerce during the Ming and Qing dynasties gave rise to a growing population of well-off citizens and a rising demand for arts and culture, including placing orders from professional portrait painters.

Prompting this wave of figure paintings were a group of prominent artists, including Zeng Jing, Yu Zhiding and Xu Zhang whose works are on show.

Gong says these artists carried forward the portraiture tradition by improving techniques, enriching the themes and styles of the form, and diversifying its presentation which can be seen vividly at the current exhibition.

"Before that, portraiture normally depicted emperors, mythological characters, men of high morality and reputation and historic figures who rendered outstanding services. While during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the genre developed more categories to meet diverse market demands, for example, imaginative portraiture of ancestors of successive generations ordered by ordinary families for worship on a day-to-day basis," Gong says.

Some works show officials and royal palaces in the background, expressing their commitment to service and royalty.

Another common category of portraiture usually shows an intellectual or a gathering of learned persons, set in and against a natural landscape, often of thatched cottages, mountains, woods, rocks and streams－an indication of their detachment from worldly affairs.

The exhibition also shows an important development in classic Chinese portraiture. While European missionaries served at the Qing court, they introduced the techniques of oil painting and copper etching, which later spread and influenced the way homegrown painters created their work. They experimented with new brushwork to add more dimension to the faces of their subjects.