Fei Danxu (1801-1850) was a well known late Qing professional figure painter, specializing in portraits and lady paintings. The first monographic study on Fei Danxu was published by Huang Yongquan in 1950s'. In the recent years, more paintings and texts by Fei Danxu, such as Fei Danxu's Uncarved Poems, have come into light, providing us with more information about the artist's art and life. Based on Huang Yongquan's study, this thesis explores further the relationship between Fei's association and his creations of portraits and lady paintings. As a painter who made a living by his art, Fei Danxu was inevitably influenced by the taste and demand of his patrons. By associating his painting productions with patrons of different circles, this thesis discusses the reasons behind the populari...[ Read more ]

Fei Danxu (1801-1850) was a well known late Qing professional figure painter, specializing in portraits and lady paintings. The first monographic study on Fei Danxu was published by Huang Yongquan in 1950s'. In the recent years, more paintings and texts by Fei Danxu, such as Fei Danxu's Uncarved Poems, have come into light, providing us with more information about the artist's art and life. Based on Huang Yongquan's study, this thesis explores further the relationship between Fei's association and his creations of portraits and lady paintings. As a painter who made a living by his art, Fei Danxu was inevitably influenced by the taste and demand of his patrons. By associating his painting productions with patrons of different circles, this thesis discusses the reasons behind the popularity of of Fei's portraits and lady paintings, and tries to make reasonable explanation for the phenomenon of ladies by Fei Danxu with monotonous face and expression.

The academic significance, literature review, and methodology of this thesis are laid out in the foreword. First chapter sketches Fei Danxu's life, his specialty and the artistic environment he was in, highlighting the circulation/popularity of his portraits and lady paintings. The second chapter reconstructs Fei Danxu's association through literary texts. The third and fourth chapters examines the subject and content of some of Fei's important portraits and lady paintings, noting the different patron circles each served, and discussing the artistic characteristics, function and influence of each. The fifth chapter tries to make reasonable explanation for the phenomenon of ladies by Fei Danxu with monotonous face and expression. The sixth chapter sums up the findings of this thesis.