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Who painted this Song Dynasty masterpiece?

09:03

Butterflies Sketched from Life captures a charming summer garden scene with butterflies and grasshoppers. Although this is known to be Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) artist Zhao Chang's work, it doesn't bear his seal or inscription. So, did he paint it or not? In the back, there is an inscription by Dong Qichang, a well-known painter, connoisseur and painting and calligraphy theorist from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), stating it to be the work by Zhao. Can we rely on Dong's appraisal of this work? Yang Danxia, a research fellow at the Palace Museum, provides insights.

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