Determining Chinese Literati Art From Other Chinese Art

Perhaps the most telling feature of a literati work is the formality of the work. If it looks like it was made to be held in a court room or depicts the life of a person in the higher class of Chinese society, then it is very likely not a literati painting. The literati painted mostly nature and used very little color, while the court paintings were painted using a wide range of colors. A good contrast between these two groups of artists can be seen between the following paintings.

Literati Painting

Court Painting

These are good examples to show contrast because they show the ideal Literati or Court painting. The Literati painting uses only black and white pigments, while the Court painting has a whole host of red, yellow, orange, brown, and other colors. the Literati painting shows a mountain, while the Court Painting shows a group of people seated at a table conversing.

Another feature that is more common in Literati paintings is the use of calligraphy and poetry in the work. as is seen above, there is a bit of calligraphy on the Literati work, but no writing at all on the Court painting.