The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival was written by Zhang Zeduan. The first collector of this painting was Song Huizong, who also wrote the words Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival.
First of all, this painting is of great artistic value. The whole painting is more than 500 centimeters and 20 centimeters long, including more than 500 figures, as well as various livestock, plants, cars and so on. So many people gather in the picture without being messy, which reflects the painter's superb layout skills. Different characters and identities, whether they are peddlers or nobles, are lifelike and have both form and spirit.
The groundbreaking significance of this painting in art is that it pioneered realism. When we appreciate ancient paintings, we will find that the theme of the paintings is nothing more than simple landscapes such as plants, birds and mountains, or aristocratic life such as literati drinking tea and playing chess. Few paintings combine scenery and characters with high realism and devote themselves to depicting the life scenes of ordinary people. That is to say, painters and paintings before Zhang Zeduan are often the product of intellectuals' narcissism, and Zhang Zeduan turned the subject of painting to ordinary people for the first time.
Secondly, this painting has extremely high historical value.
This painting focuses on the tension when the tanker passes through the bridge and culvert by the river, and depicts the life scenes of all walks of life. It is of great significance for us to understand and study the economy, culture and folk customs of Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty.
The people's is historical, and what reflects the times is permanent. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival reflects the life picture of the new citizen class. Its unique theme and perspective, as well as respect and observation of ordinary people's lives, are the most important factors that make the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival the first painting in history.