Chinese artists have had a tremendous influence on world art, and their stunning works, made on rice paper and silk, have been delighted for a few centuries with a laconic artistic language.
The aesthetic canons of a living heritage dating back to a thousand-year history have developed under the influence of the philosophical traditions of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. It is believed that nature teaches people to see the beautiful, and it is this truth that is the main theme of China's traditional painting. Unique masterpieces created by masters in different eras are an important contribution to the world of fine art.
Traditional painting of China
Guohua - Chinese painting, which differs from the Western features of the technique of performing the drawing: the image is applied to the silk or special thin paper with a brush. Artists use mineral, vegetable water-based paints, black mascara, and their works often take the form of horizontal or vertical scrolls.
Occupying a central place among different directions of art, Celestial Guohua (Chinese painting) arose in the 7th-8th centuries BC, and since the end of the 19th century the style has received a second wind.
Four Treasures
To write traditional paintings, the authors use a limited set of tools: black ink (or watercolor), a Chinese brush made of natural wool, paper and a device for rubbing paint. Many artists still prefer monochrome painting, believing that this "will reveal the essence of nature."
Much attention is paid to the quality of the carcass in the country, and tiles with black lacquer shine are used for work. Masters rub them with water, getting the desired consistency and creating a variety of shades. As Chinese artists admit, due to the low quality of European mascaras it is impossible to achieve the desired effects.
For painting, special paper suan (rice) with a specific texture is used. Sometimes drawings are made on silk or cotton.
The cannabis is very much appreciated, and many are passed down from generation to generation. These devices, sometimes exquisitely decorated, are made of jade or burnt clay.
Line drawing
If we consider European paintings painted in watercolor, then you can not notice the line as such. In Chinese painting, all the images are created through a linear pattern. This is what distinguishes the traditional style of Gohua, strongly reminiscent of the successfully developing calligraphy in the country, the elements of which artists necessarily bring into their works.
It should be noted the excellent technique of using the brush, which has been improved over several centuries. Using a thin or thick line, artists using the same tools as calligraphers convey space, volume, movement, without using the usual methods of chiaroscuro. The beauty of Chinese painting lies in the mastery of the special bi-mo technique, the name of which translates as "ink brush." Black paint applied to rice paper is instantly absorbed, and one awkward movement, the wrong line can change the overall mood of the picture, distorting the truth of life. Each smear must be accurate and clear, because the author can no longer erase or correct the picture.
Fingerprinting Technique
It is curious that Chinese paintings using the Guohua technique are not always written with a brush. Often masters use their hands, drawing their lines and shading the paint. Painters apply contour lines with a fingernail, and wide strokes are performed with the thumb pad.
Poetic inscription
Traditional Chinese painting differs from European in that it has a poetic inscription made in a calligraphic style. So the masters expressed their attitude to the work, and the hieroglyphs complemented its figurative content. The famous calligrapher, writer and artist Su Shi, who lived in the XI century, fought to ensure that poetry was necessarily present in the painting. Such inscriptions reflect the opinion of the author and become his handwriting.
Scrolls
Guohua is a Chinese painting in which there is an unusual kind of paintings. They are rolled up on a stick into a scroll and stored in oblong cases. The works are written on special paper not only with ink, but also with paints from mineral and plant materials. Paintings in rolls, not intended for the mass audience, have been stored for more than a thousand years, without losing the brightness and saturation of the shades. And nowadays you can admire the masterpieces written several centuries ago by famous masters.
Allegorical
Painting with water colors and ink is laconic, and such a language of symbols is understood by a true connoisseur of Chinese art. For example, plants and poetic lines depict the seasons, while the moon or a burning candle indicates night.
Empty voids in the paintings
Another feature that distinguishes Chinese painting from Western painting is that the authors leave blank areas on the works that can be disguised as images of a light cloud or whitish fog. Sometimes an empty place is left so that the viewer has freedom for imagination, because Chinese paintings are an amazing art form that is impossible without the unity of the author and the viewer.
Mandatory seal
According to tradition, masters necessarily put a red print on their works, thus proving their identity.
Having considered the features of traditional art, we can say that Guohua is a Chinese painting that harmoniously combines poetry, calligraphy and engraving craftsmanship, which is manifested in the print.
Painting genres
In traditional Chinese painting, several genres are distinguished. The first is shanshui (landscape). A philosophical concept has become widespread in the country, according to which people and nature are one and there are no barriers between them. A landscape work evokes a corresponding mood in the viewer.
The second genre is huanyao (image of flora and fauna). Chinese masters peer into the perfect forms of animals, stones, plants and convey their true essence, which cannot be expressed in words.
The third genre is jenyu (portrait). Even in antiquity, artists who worked with people knew one indisputable rule: along with external similarities, the creator must convey the state of mind and character of a person, emphasizing the beauty of his inner world. All painters clearly followed this principle, and even at an early stage in the development of Chinese art, mastery of the portrait genre reached an incredibly high level.
Gohua styles
Two traditional styles are known: gunbi, which prevails in the early stages, and ce-i, which became widespread at the end of the 19th century. Let's analyze the features of these areas.
The Chinese style of gongbi is a certain style of writing, in which paint (including color) is carefully applied and the smallest details are written. The main goal of the artist is to accurately depict reality, and such an idea of naturalism is closely connected with the influence of Taoism. Gunby is considered the official academic painting. The masters who designed the interiors of the imperial palace worked in the style of clear lines.
However, after the spread of Buddhism in the country, artists rethought this idea, and a new Chinese style ce-i appeared, characterized by a free style of writing. Creators do not depict the external similarity of an object or object, but take care of the transmission of mood. They strive to show sincere emotions in terms of images. It is believed that ce-i is a painting of philosophers and poets, and creators work in this style under the influence of a momentary mood.
A variety of se-i is shuymo (only black ink is used to paint pictures).
Many Chinese artists successfully combine the techniques of one and the other style in their works, using mixed techniques. Li Kezhan, Qi Baishi, Fu Baoshi, Yang Yifeng, Huang Binhong, Pan Tianshou and other masters managed to achieve expressive effects in their works, conveying images of nature and capturing even the most insignificant details.
"Reading" of pictures
The national painting with water colors is characterized by an elegant figurative language, and artists put a certain subtext in their works. If Europeans consider canvases, then the Chinese read them. The paintings are filled with a positive attitude and give their master a good mood.
Chinese works are full of symbolism and allegories. For example, the mountains represent the masculine light principle, and the water - the dark feminine. The painter conveys the lyrical moods, experiences that arise after communicating with nature, and does not strive for naturalism and external resemblance.
Against the backdrop of majestic landscapes, miniature figures of people symbolize that man is an insignificant link in the Universe, which is completely subordinated to its power. But in European art, people have always been portrayed as a powerful force capable of controlling the elements, and such representations of man are fundamentally different from Western Chinese painting.
Flowers are a separate topic for conversation. There is a painting called the “Four Noble”:
- an orchid symbolizing purity;
- chrysanthemum, embodying modesty and chastity;
- wild plum meihua - resistance and inflexibility;
- Bamboo is a symbol of human character.
Often, artists portray a willow that embodies beauty and exquisite sophistication. She personifies spring and feminine grace. But pine is the idea of eternal youth and Confucian restraint.
Such a language of symbols is very understandable to the Chinese, and for those who can not unravel the allegories, it is incredibly difficult to comprehend national painting.
Masters of guhua
Xu Bei-hong had excellent command of the basic skills of European art and combined them with Chinese traditions in his work. His magnificent portraits, in which the painter skillfully revealed the psychological traits of people, are considered masterpieces of Chinese art.
Yang Yifeng, the winner of many national awards, worthily continues the traditions developed over centuries.
Gu Yinzhi, who received the title of "Queen of cats", works in the style of se-i. She masterfully depicts domestic animals, and her canvases are presented by Chinese ambassadors to foreign guests.
Qi Bai-shek is one of the most prominent representatives of the style. An observant creator, able to catch the main features, writes original paintings, combining high skill with the art of calligraphy and expressive lines.
Painting training
Many people want to learn the secrets of guhua, but learning to create in this technique is not so simple. Artists train a lot of time before starting work in one go to avoid mistakes.
The Chinese appreciate not only the external beauty of the paintings, but also the internal, their strength and energy. Many shops in the country sell special albums for coloring books, which shows the sequence of the drawing. Such training in painting is paying off, and almost anyone can paint in a traditional style. In this way, good taste is instilled and a love of art is brought up.
Form Poetry
I must say that now Gohua follows time. It has long gone beyond the narrow framework of Chinese national traditions. Plots on contemporary topics appear in the visual arts, and such paintings are filled with new content. Let us agree with the classic who noted that "painting is poetry that has taken shape."