Juran

CHINA, Jiangsu, Nanjing; Southern Tang Kingdom to Northern Song dynasty (937–1127)

Juran was a monk and a painter who was ordained at Kaiyuan Temple and later lived at Kaibao Temple in Henan. He studied landscape painting under Master Dongyuan during his earlier years. Under this influence, Juran created vivid scenes of mountains outlined with rounded contours that were well-defined and precise, applying an ink-wash with fibrous brushstrokes to produce a softened effect. Later, his works became more distinctive from Dongyuan’s, painting in an impressionistic style with no fixed forms, and conveying an overall contemplative mood. Together, the teacher and student pair were regarded as Dong Ju. They became the pioneers of the Southern Song landscape painters who influenced future generations of artists. In addition, alongside Jinghao, Guantong, and Dongyuan, Juran was considered one of the Four Master Landscape Painters of the Five Dynasties (907–960) and early Song dynasty (960–1279).
Guo Rouxu, a Song dynasty art historian and critic, claimed in his book, Overview of Painting, that Juran’s paintings skillfully expressed the charming aspects of the mountains he depicted with his use of a light ink application that evoked an ethereal and misty appeal. Juran’s style was further praised by Shen Guo, another renowned scholar, who stated that his “brushstrokes produce images that are somewhat difficult to interpret when up close, but when viewed from afar, all just fall into place, producing an alluring and otherworldly landscape as if gazing into another dimension.”
Although few of Juran’s works remain today, Xuanhe Catalog of Paintings recorded that a total of 136 of his paintings were once in the imperial collection. Seeking the Path in the Autumn Mountain and Layered Peaks and Clumps of Wood are now kept at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan; Mountain Ravine Pine Forest is at the Shanghai Museum; Mist Floating over a Distant Peak is at the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art in Japan; and Buddhist Retreat by Stream and Mountain is kept at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio, USA.