在明代之前,见诸史籍的女性画家少之又少,其中以皇室贵族女子的身份居多,且多以书法为长。明清之后女性画家不仅在数量上有了显著增加,在身份种类上也趋向多样化。明清之际的妓女尤其是名妓在女性画家中的比例明显上升。她们在琴棋书画等各个方面的修养出类拔萃。名妓作为女性画家的身份构成之一,在女性绘画史中有着举足轻重的地位。闺秀画家与青楼画家们之间的区别主要体现在生活背景、绘画题材、绘画风格等方面,生活背景的不同造成了她们绘画内容和绘画风格上的差异。 Before the Ming Dynasty, there were only a few female painters who had seen historical records. Among them, the majority of royal aristocratic women were mostly calligraphists. After the Ming and the Qing Dynasties, female painters not only increased their numbers significantly, but also tended to diversify their identities. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the percentage of female painters, especially prostitutes, increased significantly. They are outstanding in all aspects of poetry and painting. As one of the female painters’ identity, the courtesan plays a decisive role in the history of female painting. The differences between ladylike painters and brothel painters are mainly reflected in the aspects of life background, painting themes, painting style, etc., and the differences in their living backgrounds have caused their differences in painting content and painting style.