Zhao Gan
A Master of the Jiangnan Landscape Zhao Gan was a Chinese painter active during the second half of the tenth century, originating from Nanjing. As a member of the painting academy at the court of the last emperor of the Southern Tang, Li Houzhu, he served as a student at the Imperial Painting Academy. He was specifically recognized for his skill in depicting the waterways of the Jiangnan region, particularly the river scenes of the area surrounding Jinling. His artistic legacy is preserved through his surviving works, most notably the horizontal silk scroll titled Early Snow on the River. Thi…
The Subject Atlas
A chart of Zhao Gan's corpus mapped not by date but by subject. Spokes are what they painted; rings are when; and the threads between stars reveal the patrons and places that secretly connect them.
Spokes — Subject
Each arm of the atlas gathers works by what they depict: portraits, sacred scenes, mythologies, and the scientific studies. Click a spoke to swing that cluster to the top.
Rings — Career Period
Distance from the center marks time. The innermost ring is the earliest period; the outermost, the final years. Style matures as you move outward.
Threads — Shared Context
Coloured lines link works bound by the same patron, commission, or theme. Trace a context to watch related clusters light up across subjects.