Huang Quan

CHINA, Sichuan, Chengdu; Former Shu Kingdom to Northern Song dynasty (907–1127)

Huang Quan, also known as Yao Shu, was a painter who served as painter-in-attendance in the Imperial Painting Academy. He was highly-regarded by the royal court and was the first person to become a senior government official due to his artistic talents.
Huang was skilled in painting flowers, birds, plants and insects, often being requested to depict the rare species of plants and birds at the royal palace. His painting style was precise and delicate. In 944, Emperor Meng Chang (reigned 934–965) of the Later Shu Kingdom commissioned Huang to paint a mural featuring the six cranes that he had recently received as a gift. After Huang vividly illustrated the six cranes in six different poses, the side chamber was given the name Hall of Six Cranes.
Huang, alongside fellow painter, Xu Xi, was considered to be one of the two patriarchs of the two main branches of flower and bird painting schools in the early Song dynasty. His famous work, Rare Birds, is now kept at the Palace Museum in Beijing.