Immortal Ladies of the Penglai Court (阮郜阆苑女仙图卷)

Ruan Gao left almost no biography and one extraordinary picture. His handscroll Immortal Ladies of the Penglai Court is a rare survival of Daoist figure painting from the tenth century.

The subject is the goddesses of the mythical Penglai isles, the Daoist paradise. They drift across the scroll with the weightless composure that celestial beings require, attended by smaller figures and set against mist. Ruan Gao is an obscure name, listed among Five Dynasties painters, and this work is essentially all we have to judge him by. That makes it precious.

Daoist imagery sat comfortably inside court art of the period. Immortal ladies, flying scarves, gardens that are not of this world, these were stock themes, but the handling here is unusually refined. The faces are calm, the drapery rhythms are controlled, and the whole procession moves with a slow musical pace.

Survival is the real story. So few figure scrolls from this era escape war and humidity that a single intact handscroll by an unknown becomes a keystone. Through it we see what a competent court painter could do with a theme most of his peers also attempted.

We do not know Ruan Gao. We know this. The painting does the introducing, and it introduces a steady, graceful hand.

Image © The Palace Museum. View the original in the Palace Museum collection.