Gao Keming

CHINA, Shanxi, Yuncheng; Northern Song dynasty

Gao Keming was a painter from Jiangzhou (present day Xinjiang, Yuncheng). He studied in the Imperial Painting Academy and produced works that were highly-praised by Emperor Zhenzong (reigned 997–1022) of the Song dynasty, who appointed him painter-in-attendance and honored him with the purple robe. In 1023, Gao was commissioned by the imperial court to illustrate the written work, Great Lessons from Three Generations. He was later requested to illustrate another record entitled Important Events of Three Generations, which depicted notable events of the period under the rule of Emperor Taizu (reigned 960–976), Emperor Taizong (reigned 976–997), and Emperor Zhenzong.
Gao was also known to be a skilled painter of Buddhist and Daoist images, portraits, and landscapes. His landscape paintings were well-received and likened to those of Yan Wengui, another famous landscape painter of the early Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). In Evaluation of Famous Painters of the Song Dynasty, Gao’s paintings are described as unique and innovative, and Xuanhe Catalog of Paintings documents some of Gao’s works. His painting, Waterfowl and Autumn Trees, is located at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.