The Screen in Fresco Paintings: A Study of the ‘Screen-Style Frescoes’ in the Temples of Gaoping County in China

Abstract

Screen-style frescoes, found in the temples of Gaoping County, Shanxi Province, China, and originating mostly from the Qing Dynasty, present a unique painting form. Folk artists not only painted the screen, a common object in everyday life in ancient China, on the wall surfaces, but also created a variety of paintings inside the screen panels, whereby the viewer sees a painting within a painting. This article, based on multiple field trips, aims to analyze screen-style frescoes in terms of their locations, styles, and unique artistic characteristics such as subject matter, color usage, and brushwork. By studying the influence of literati paintings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the author also reveals the aesthetic transition from religious scenes to secular life as presented in the temple frescoes in ancient Gaoping County.