One of the three
uberskills of the
Chinese scholar, along with
calligraphy and
poetry, it is radically different from Western styles. There are two traditions of
Chinese painting, the
artisan school and the
scholar school. They often overlap, but the
scholar school is much more
prestigious.
Chinese painting took off in the Tang Dynasty, the emperors of that era were quite generous with patronization of artists. The Song Dynasty was the golden era of Chinese painting, landscapes in particular. There were four categories.
- Landscapes
- People and objects
- Birds and flowers
- Grass and insects
The distinguishing factor of
Chinese painting in comparison with Western art is a total lack of
perspective, or rather, the absence of a
single disappearing point.
Medieval European art also lacked
perspective, however, it was
rigid and
blocky.
Chinese painting lacks
form, it is often
flowing,
free,
wandering. When viewing
Chinese art, you can still tell
distances and
size, however, it is much more
subtle, giving the viewer a sense of
immersion inside the
painting.
In addition, Chinese art is done with different materials. Instead of oil, we have simply ink on silk or thin paper. Colors are used occasionally, mostly blue or green. Black is the main color. Instead of recreating a scene in detail, the artist seeks to capture the spirit, via the brush. The brushstrokes, like in calligraphy, is a way of expression. The way an artist wields the brush is the true art of Chinese painting.
Nature was a source of inspiration for the Chinese artist, they flock to cities such as Suzhou and Hangzhou and places like the Three Gorges and the Yellow Mountains to seek their true feelings and spirits. It was not the view of nature but more the essence of nature that mattered.
One can easily develop a taste for Chinese art, the aesthetic of it is quite different from Western art and it is very pleasing to the eye and soul. Recently, various Chinese pseudo-artists attempted to create a unique style of contemporary art by mixing traditional Chinese art and the new-fangled avant garde styles, it has so far been a complete failure, seen by the Chinese as totally ridiculous.