Five Dogs

Some of the earliest blue and green pigments used in landscape painting were made from ground stones such as azurite, malachite, or imported lapis lazuli. These stones and plants were associated with medicinal properties. A comprehensive guide to the materials is listed in Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao gangmu). Author Li Shizhen (1518–1593) believed these materials absorbed the energy of the universe, making them ideal elixirs and pharmaceutical ingredients. Using this same philosophy, painters used the colors to depict mountains, trees, and grass to evoke a landscape’s energy or immortality.

Over the centuries, Chinese artists used a variety of material for pigments. To create distinctive styles, the artists would have mixed mineral pigments with indigo or synthesized pigments to create layers or mute their palettes.