Many people know the Four Kings of the early Qing Dynasty, and they represent the highest achievement of the orthodox landscape painting of the Qing Dynasty. Did you know that there were also "Little Four Kings" in the Qing Dynasty. These four painters surnamed Wang are the younger generations of the Four Kings, and their works have a characteristic, that is, they imitate the Four Kings of the early Qing Dynasty in all aspects. For example, these four landscape paintings are the works of the Little Four Kings, and they don't look like they were created by a single painter. Whether it is to pay tribute to the brushwork of the Yuan people or to admire the style of the Song people, it has not broken people's inherent impression of the orthodox painting style.
It is difficult to evaluate whether such a work is good or not. Appreciators who like pen and ink skills will admire the learning attitude of the little four kings and envy them for having a pious heart. Appreciators who like to look for individuality and freshness will feel that the little four kings are following suit, and they are timid in their creation, and they dare not show a free-spirited attitude on the drawing paper. "Autumn Mountain Flat Lake" and "Autumn Mountain Cold Forest" are the works of Wang Chen and Wang Jiu respectively, and these two painters added Huang Gongwang's brush and ink characteristics when imitating Ni Zhan's painting style.
By integrating the techniques of predecessors, giving landscape painting a new look, it requires a wide range of knowledge and exquisite techniques. Wang Hui can reach this realm, but no painter after him can surpass Wang Hui. Suppose that someone has already reached the end of a road, and the latecomers prefer to continue walking, the result can be imagined. It can be seen from these two autumn landscapes that when the painter falls into the "routine", the painting is not interesting.
For example, too much attention is paid to visual beauty in composition, which weakens the majestic momentum of the landscape. Wang Chen and Wang Jiu like to use heavy ink, hoping to paint three-dimensional. Unfortunately, the three-dimensional sense is not expressed, but the scenery in the painting is like a bonsai, and the sense of reality is missing. The lack of observation and expressiveness leaves the picture only to look beautiful.
Another interesting phenomenon is that Wang Chen and Wang Jiu painted three-stage landscapes, and the contrast of sparseness was also noticed in the composition. Due to the fine use of the pen, it creates a feeling of impermeability. They thought that when the painting was full, they would be able to express the momentum of landscape painting. In fact, the sense of stacking is too strong, but it makes people feel fake. That's why it looks like a bonsai, including the two landscape paintings below.
With dense brushwork, full of composition, there is no refinement of the soul of the landscape, only design and management, and it is not surprising that it looks like a person's work. It is normal for the mainstream style to appear in the art world, and it would not be normal if all painters moved closer to the mainstream. There is no inherent formula for artistic creation, and only the personality of the painter and the characteristics of the times can make people shine. A painting without personality has no vitality.
"Cool without Heat" is a summer scene, if you don't look at the inscription in the painting and only look at the picture, can you see it?In terms of brush and ink techniques, there is almost no much difference from the above two autumn landscapes. The brushwork technique and the composition style are supposed to give the work a sense of authenticity. The technique is very mature, and the painter's observation power cannot be seen, so how can such a work move people?
The ancients put forward the creative method of "learning from teachers", and those famous painters were looking for inspiration in their travels. When a painter can only skillfully use techniques and forget to leave the studio, he can only paint works with similar appearances and similar techniques. Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, painters began to reflect on this phenomenon, hoping to break the influence of the orthodox style. As a result, there is the equal emphasis on the color and ink of the Shanghai style of landscape, the integration of the north and the south of the Beijing-Tianjin school, and the integration of the Chinese and Western schools of the Lingnan school.
It looks very similar, which causes people to have a cold attitude towards Qing Dynasty landscape paintings. The similarity of creation makes people not think highly of most Qing Dynasty painters.
Further reading
Can you tell who he is imitating, Dai Xi landscape painting appreciation.
Four imitation Tang Bohu landscape paintings, which one do you like.
Clever use of scattered perspective, Qi Kun's "Range Rover in Streams and Mountains".
Look at the landscape and guess the ancient poems, the poetic intentions of the famous writers.