Eagles

Active from the Jingtai to the Chenghua reigns, Lin Liang, a native of Nanhai, Guangdong province, was a Ming dynasty court painter. The genre that won him the highest regard was bird-and-flower. Among his extant works in this genre, monochrome ink ones outnumber those in ink and color. Existing biographical information about the painter do not corroborate, the most plausible of which is that he was employed by the Provincial Administration Commissioner Chen Jin before serving at the Hall of Benevolence and Wisdom, or de facto painting academy, and becoming Guardsman of the Embroidered-uniform Guards.

This hanging scroll shows Lin’s typical style. In this painting, two eagles were painted. One was standing on a cliff, looking at two flying birds, while the other was standing on a tree, looking backwards. The artist shows his great technique in depicting animals with his skillful use of brush and ink. We can still feel the vitality of birds though the painting itself was heavily damaged.