Chinese painting is a self-contained system. In the 5,000 years of historical evolution in China, it has not only been consistent and endless, but also highlighted the characteristics and charm of oriental aesthetic culture in the most unique and artistic way, and sublimated into a form of visual art expression of the Chinese nation's historical cognition and realistic feelings of life.
Retired Old Man 68 138cm Pen on Paper 2021
Artists in different historical periods have continuously injected vitality into Chinese painting through rounds of aesthetic creation, and our pursuit of the aesthetic wisdom of the ancients is the potential force to promote the in-depth development of contemporary Chinese painting. In the relatively independent system of Chinese painting, whether in ancient times or in the present, there is still a lack of a consensus basic training method, which is also an obvious problem. In this way, the meaning of this article is clear that the ancients have survived to make up for the lack of contemporary Chinese painting
In terms of subject matter, Chinese painting has always been said to be "divided into three disciplines", namely figure painting, flower and bird painting, and landscape paintingIn terms of technique, there are two kinds of division of labor: pen and freehand. However, when we look through the history of painting, we will find that there is also an independent type of painting, which is called: "white painting".
Xishan Xiaoxing 116 138cm Gongbi on paper 2021
There are many records about the "white painting" in the history of art, such as Zhang Yanyuan in the Tang Dynasty in the "Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties, Records of the Painting Wall of the Waizhou Temple in Liangjing", Chang'an Ci'en Temple East has Zheng Qian, Bi Hong, Wang Wei and others painted the "white painting", the north of the hall has the "white painting" painted by Dong Yan, and the Baoying Temple has many "white paintings" painted by Han Gan, etcIt is also recorded that Li Gonglin in the Song Dynasty used light brushes and light ink, without powder, and collected the culmination of simplicity The creation of the form of "white painting" is supported by his famous work "Five Horses", but because many of its uncolored works have been handed down, "white drawing" is more often compared with it in the history of art, so that "white painting" and Wu Daozi "White drawing" and Li Gonglin have become synonymous with both However, according to scholars' research, about "white painting" and "white drawing" There is always confusion in the historical records and the identification of works, some of them call the form of white painting recognized by modern people as "white painting", and some of them classify the works assigned to the separation and dyeing as "white painting", and so on and so on are not exhaustive Chinese painting is known for its clear context, orderly inheritance, and strong genes, so what is the "white painting" traced to this day?Might as well do something**
Purple Poems 120 138cm Pen on Paper 2021
Throughout the history of art, there is also a type of painting parallel to "white painting", that is, "white painting", and the two correspondingly The Tang and Song dynasties should be the peak of the development of "white painting" and "white painting", creating many classic works From Wu Daozi's "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls" and "Sending the Heavenly King" with his vigorous and free white painting technique, to Li Gonglin's "Five Horses" and "Linwei Yan's Grazing Picture", which not only created an extraordinary classic of "unparalleled Chinese painting figures in the world" and "the first Song painting" , but also presents the prosperity of "white drawing" and "white painting" So, what is the difference between "white drawing" and "white painting"?Is it "white painting" or "white painting", or is it each with its own quality, or is it each other's connotation?In this way, we will first analyze from the perspective of vocabulary: "white painting" and "white drawing", both of which have a "white" character, and the difference is between the words "painting" and "drawing" These two words are verbs, with the sameness, which can be explained from the literal meaning, or carefully experienced, it can be seen that "painting" is broader than "drawing" and "painting" also has noun attributes, while "drawing" is only a specific way of moving the brush Therefore, in contrast, "white drawing" has a certain narrow sense, and "white painting" is more broad
Season of Flowers 100x110cm Pen on paper 2021
In addition, according to the record of "Xuanhe Painting", Li Gonglin of the Song Dynasty except for the paintings and copying ancient paintings, the rest are "white paintings" or "white paintings", and those who set ink colors for line drawings are "white paintings", and those expressed with lines alone are "white paintings" Mr. Shi Shouqian believes in the book "Style and World Changes: Ten Treatises on Chinese Painting" that "white painting" is different from the so-called "white painting" later popular, and that the "white painting" in the Tang and Song dynasties is wider than the "white painting", and it also includes the separation of ink and light color
But the problem is precisely here "White Drawing" and "White Painting", the two are different means of expression of Chinese painting, and the fate of the two is not quite the same So far, "White Drawing" has not only become an independent type of painting, but also the modeling basis of Gongbi painting and ink painting, we can look at "White Painting", although its original form is widely extant Although it has a rich development in contemporary academies, and there are many works that are not colored or only monochrome in the creation of Chinese painting, but its title has disappeared in the flow of history!Why?
The world uses ink painting as a white drawing, which is called white painting in ancient times "This sentence of Fang Xun in the Qing Dynasty in the "Theory of Mountain Meditation Painting" can provide a clue: from white painting to white painting, there are changes in ancient and modern times That is, what we call "white painting" now also contains the concept of "white painting" This is like "white painting" marrying "white painting" to his own "white painting" hidden at home without leaving home, and its reputation is fading;And "White Drawing" became the head of the family, and his fame has not diminished back then
Day Returns to Miao Mountain, 138x166cm, Gongbi on paper, 2022
But the question arises again: As mentioned above, "white painting" is broader than "white painting", does this mean that the bride who stays at home and whose fame is fading is even more broad-minded?That's true!For example, in the Yuan Dynasty, whether it was gongbi painting or literati painting, "white painting" was never idle in it
Gongbi painting used to be the mainstream form of Chinese painting in the Tang and Song dynasties, although the expression of the line is the modeling basis of the gongbi painting, but the line and color in the gongbi painting are separated, and there is a procedure from the technical level, that is, the expression of the traditional gongbi painting is to first outline the line and then apply the color, so that the line becomes the skeleton and support of the shape, and then "with the class of color", and take the way of "line model" to standardize the edge of the color, in order to achieve the combination of color and line, and "vivid", and then express the portrayal This way of expression makes the "white painting", which does not emphasize color and only relies on simple light ink or plain color dyeing, unique, and has become an expression that has been imitated and used, so that it has become an independent painting and a specific concept in the painting creation of the Tang and Song dynasties, and has also been appreciated and evaluated by various dynasties from the Tang Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty Due to the rise of literati painting, gongbi painting retreated to a low ebb and silence Literati painting is a comprehensive art, integrating literature, calligraphy, painting and seal carving art, paying attention to "calligraphy and painting with the same brush and the same method", with "the pen to establish its shape, and the ink to distinguish its yin and yang" In the process of writing, the line can be transformed into a surface, and the surface can also be described as an unfolding line, so that the boundary between the line and the surface is no longer clear, and it is wonderful to be integrated into a wonderful literati doctor regards the expression of painting as a means of mental adjustment, and plays the role of spiritual relaxation Not for material service, not to be detained by the law, with the simplest tool pen ink paper, the most general language black and white gray to talk about the ease in the chest, "to the plain" and "to the light for the mysterious", advocating the heart and hand forgetting, simple and simple In this way, there is a convergence in the visual connotation and form of ink painting and "white painting" painted by literati painting, but it is only the admiration and worship of literati painting by later generations that makes "white painting" diluted and loses the value of the title
Nu Flowers, Life Like a Song, 350, 250cm, Gongbi on Paper, 2020
Nu Flowers Life is like a song (detail).
At this point, it can be seen that the scope of "white painting" is wider Combined with today's understanding and realistic feelings, I believe that the connotation of "white painting" should include "white drawing", which means that it is not colored, has simplicity, or uses simple lines as the basis for modeling, or gives a relatively simple color and ink dyeing collectively called "white painting", in which simply depicting objects with lines can be called "white drawing" In terms of technical mechanism, "white drawing" pays attention to the calligraphy interest and chapter program outlined by the brush, "white painting" On this basis, monochrome rendering and concave and convex portrayal are added;In terms of visual effect, "white painting" embodies the aesthetic pursuit through the priority of the brush, the frustration and the thickness and length of the line, and the complex, simple and sparse density, while the "white painting" embodies the texture, volume and aesthetic characteristics of the image through the shade of dry and wet, undulating and uneven shades and the operation of the block surfaceIn this way, looking back at the "white painting" mentioned in the article, the "white painting" married back to the "white painting", in fact, it should be added that the "white painting" that passed through the door supported the "white painting" with her technique and connotation - the "white painting" is the head of the family
The importance and value of "white painting" is obvious The development of Chinese painting to the contemporary era has shown an unprecedented prosperity, and no matter the artistic concept, expression method, technical means and modeling ability have been greatly expanded and improved compared with ancient times, but we must also see that compared with Western painting, Chinese painting does not have its own perfect standard basic training method that meets the current requirements, or has not yet established an authoritative basic training system with a consensus Throughout the training units of various art talents, there are Western painting sketches, linear sketches, structural sketches, white sketches, etc Although in art practice, whether it is an art college or an individual artist, many useful explorations have been made in basic training, and the structural sketching method is a relatively centralized method, which may be able to solve the problem of combining line and volume, but structural sketching is the best in the West, and at the same time, it has also been opposed by emphasizing flatness and nationalization It is precisely for this reason that this paper believes that it is necessary to reinterpret the original meaning and realistic connotation of ancient "white painting". First, it will involve the inheritance and expansion of traditional Chinese painting techniques, so as to make Chinese painting, which represents the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, more abundant and diverseSecond, it can also be used as a specific starting point for the revival of China's traditional culture, and explore a new direction on the basis of the continuous improvement of Chinese paintingThird, on this basis, it may be beneficial for Chinese painting to form its own basic training method, and provide a new path and the possibility of reconstruction in the entanglement between "white drawing" and structural drawing
(Written by Chen Mengxin).
Red Hawthorn 120 120cm Pen on paper 2007
Missionaries and the Past of the Late Qing Dynasty in China (in collaboration), 260, 300cm, 2018
Missionaries and China's Late Qing Dynasty.
Tangbo Ancient Road (detail), 94, 255cm, pen on paper, 2014
Wax Moon (Part 1) 210 230cm Paper Gongbi 2009
Warm Moon 220 230cm Heavy Color Brush on Paper 2011
One side of water and soil (part 1) Paper 210 220cm 1994
One side of water and soil (part 2) Paper brushwork, 210, 220cm, 1994
*: Gongbi Painting Institute, Chinese Academy of Arts).
Artist Profile
Chen Mengxin,Second-level professor of the Chinese Academy of Arts, doctoral supervisor. Director of the China Artists Association, Deputy Director of the Chinese Painting Art Committee of the China Artists Association, President of the China Gongbi Painting Society, Vice President of the Chinese Painting Society, Vice President of the Modern Gongbi Painting Academy, and Distinguished Researcher of the China National Academy of Painting.
Works to participate in the first.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ten.
1. The 12th National Art Exhibition won the Silver Award once, the Bronze Award twice, the Gold Award of the Regional Exhibition once, the Excellence Award five times, and the Gold Award of the Provincial Exhibition four times. It undertook four major national art theme creation projects issued by the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the China Artists Association, and the ** Counselor's Office. He has participated in more than 60 national exhibitions such as the Beijing International Biennale, and has participated in overseas academic exhibitions such as the Louvre International Art Salon in France for many times. He won the first "Wenhua Award Grand Prix" and Hubei Province's "Qu Yuan Literary and Art Award", "Literary Star Award" and "Literary and Art Revitalization Award", and was awarded the title of "National Young and Middle-aged Literary and Art Workers" by the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.