Chinese Painting
Chinese painting is a specific form of Chinese art and it is identified as the oldest form of artistic tradition in the world. The specifics of Chinese painting are passed down from one generation to the next so that the culture has continually remained affluent in this particular art form. For those of you not familiar with Chinese painting, it is very similar to the concept of calligraphy only it is applied to pictures and scenes rather than to words.
True Chinese painting doesn’t use any types of oils so when you see such paintings you can identify them as poor imitations of this true art form. Most Chinese painting is completed using black ink and a thin brush but some of the newer paintings feature colored ink as well. The paintings may be done on high quality paper, silk, or on walls. Many Chinese paintings were placed on heavy paper that was rolled up after it was dried called a scroll.
Two different forms of art can be found in Chinese painting: Gong ñ bi and Shui ñ mo. Gong ñ bi involves carefully completed paintings that are of a standard form. This is a very meticulous and calculated type of painting. Shui ñ mo is more relaxed and involves free hand designs. They are often done in a variety of watercolors.
There are some common elements found in Chinese paintings including people, the landscape, water, and the sky. For the Chinese culture, painting takes on a form of its own. It is viewed very differently in their culture than in many others around the world. There are six principles that apply to Chinese painting: transferring the spirit of a person or place onto the art, using the brush to allow the picture to flow properly, giving details to the objects in the painting, adding value to the picture by using the right combination of elements and colors, arranging the picture so it is inviting to look at, and being able to correctly copy the beauty found in all the elements.
The concepts of Chinese painting have been modified over the centuries but they still hold an important part in their cultures. During the 1950’s the Chinese were introduced to the concept of oil painting. However, it has not been well embraced by the culture there.
