Xu Daoning (許道寧, ca.970-1052), a native of Chang’an, was a painter of the Northern Song (960-1127). He excelled at landscape painting and specialized in the refined scenery of trees, level distances, and rustic views of water. In his early years, Xu Daoning studied the works of Li Cheng (李成), and his application of brush and ink was cautious and precise. In his later years, however, his use of the brush became more abbreviated and quicker, developing into a style of his own. He often did paintings for the imperial family and nobility, achieving fame at the time. Xu Daoning’s paintings were highly valued by other artists such as Mi Fu (米芾) and Huang Tingjian (黃庭堅), and he was praised by Prime Minister Zhang Shixun (張士遜) with the following lines, “With Li Cheng (李成) and Fan Kuan (範寬) having passed away, now there is only Xu Daoning of Chang’an (李成謝世範寬死，唯有長安許道寧).”
Artworks by Xu Daoning
