Legendary figures in the History of Chinese Art
Chinese art is one of the oldest in the world. The earliest Chinese art was made up of pottery and sculptures. Nobles and scholars preserved Chinese art traditions. The artwork was modified across the various Chinese dynasties such as the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, and Qing dynasties. Late Imperial China and Communist-era marked further transformations leading up to contemporary Chinese art. Some of the earliest prized Chinese artifacts include cast bronzes and Jade carvings. The remains of the first Chinese art traditions were found during the years 481 – 221 B.C.E. Paintings were done on silk, stone, and lacquer (New World Encyclopedia, 2018). Later, the invention of paper in the first-century B.C.E replaced the use of silk in paintings. Painting and calligraphy were famous during the reign of these ancient dynasties, particularly within court circles. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
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Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism were significant influences in the development of Chinese art. Soon after the reign of the last Chinese dynasty, movements occurred to modernize the art. Western art largely influenced this modern Chinese art, with Shanghai being the birthplace of this new Chinese art. New art forms emerged split into three categories that Chinese cinema, popular music, and animation. During the communist era of the 1950s to 1980s, art was used as a platform to promote various ideologies by the government. However, the art movements suffered during the reign of Mao Zedong, who persecuted key artists and eroded traditional art. After Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution restrictions were lifted, Chinese artists began to explore new themes and subjects. This led to the rise of Chinese avant-garde art, which refers to contemporary art. Chinese artists have faced government restrictions over the years, which has hampered artistic freedom. However, since the 1980s, there has been more tolerance for art within the Chinese market (New World Encyclopedia, 2018). This illustrious history of Chinese art has produced many famous figures. From the third century until the modern era, Chinese artists have produced masterpieces. Some of them include Gu Kaizhi, Wu Daozi, Ni Zan, Zhao Wuji, Wang Xi-Zhi, Zhu Da, Zhao Mengfu, Zhan Ziqian, Shen Zhoe, and Wu Guanzhong. This paper will examine five legendary Chinese artists and their contributions to history.
Zhan Ziqian
This famous painter lived during the era of the Sui dynasty during the years 581-618 B.C.E. He was a renowned landscape painter. His works contained Hunting, Beijixunhaitu, and the Imperial Garden. Zhan Ziqian’s most notable work is the Spring Excursion. It is considered a prized asset in the evolution of Chinese landscape paintings. The Spring Excursion pictures nobles are playing in a mountainous area. He works out the art using detailed color fillings and brush strokes. The full rivers highlight water as the central theme in the painting. Together with the surrounding mountains and trees, this work showed a magnificent presentation of an adventure in the spring valleys. Chinese and western art differ in the perception of space and distance. While western paintings take a more geometric or scientific dimension, Chinese art depends on perception to depict landscape paintings. This unique understanding of the concepts of space and distance using judgment made Zhan Ziqian work outstanding in describing natural phenomena such as mountains, rivers, and clouds. Spring Excursion is considered the oldest available Chinese landscape painting. Although his paintings covered various genres, Ziqian is notable for painting people, horses, and pavilions (China Culture, 2020). Ziqian is considered revolutionary in the development of Chinese landscape painting.
Wang Xi-Zhi
He is known in Chinese history as one of the greatest masters of calligraphy. He lived during the Eastern Jin dynasty. Wang came from a family with a calligraphy heritage. His father exposed him to calligraphy while he was seven years old. Also, Wang’s aunt, Wei Shuo, was a prominent calligrapher known for composing Kaishu’s rules, which was a popular Chinese calligraphy style. His calligraphic skill was inspired by geese as he loved raising these birds. By observed the neck shifts of geese, he developed excellent wrist movements which aided his writing. Notably, none of his over 1000 calligraphic works survived till today. Some of his famous works include Commentaries on the Portrait of Dongfang Shuo, The Statement of Pledge, Narration on Yue Yi. His flagship project was the “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion.” This work was written when Wang and dozens of other scholars were composing poems while playing a drinking game. The spacing of the characters in the poem revealed his emotional state while producing it. The poetry was influenced by Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist traditions. An interesting bit of Wang was he was able to influence all seven of his children to become noble calligraphers (Cultural Keys, 2019). Wang’s work hugely influenced the work of many Chinese calligraphers.
Shen Zhoe
He lived during the Ming dynasty and was skilled in painting, calligraphy, and poetry. He’s best known for his painting works, the landscape genre mainly. Shen was renowned for drawing his works from artistic influences of the past, especially the Yuan and Song dynasties. He refined and modified this influences to create his own unique style. He liked using monochrome ink to depict subjects ranging from birds, flowers, vegetable, fruits, animals and landscapes. Shen refined the artworks of Yuan paint masters. For example, He added pure beauty in his works such as “Crossing a Bridge to Visit Friends” and “Walking with a Staff,” which were inspired by two Yuan masters Ni Zan and Huang Gongwang. One core strength of Shen was his outstanding skill in observing nature and using them to create refreshing and creative artworks. One of his most distinguished works is the Album of Sketching for life. Its subjects ranged from animals such as cats and donkeys, leaves, flowers. His painting combined his style and the calligraphic influence of Huang Tingjian’s. Shen was proficient in the style of the sketching idea, which he used with great effect to depict his flower and bird’s paintings (National Palace Museum, 2020). Shen was one of the eminent Four Painting Masters of Ming together with Tang Yin, Qiu Ying, and Wen Zhengming.
Wu Daozi
He was one of the Tang Dynasty prominent painters. He first ventured into calligraphy, but after having the limited success, he started painting. Wu was known for his large scale depictions of Buddhist characters, particularly in walls. An essential part of his works is the extensive use of the brush to express his imagination and vigor. His paintings showed rivers, flowers, birds, and mountains. Some of his legendary works include the Eighty-seven Immortals and the Presentation of Buddha (China online museum, 2020). Wu Daozi became a painting elite praised as one of the seventh-century masters.
Wu Guanzhong
He is a modern pioneer of Chinese art. A leading creative influence in the 21st century. He drew a lot from western art techniques. His time living in France helped him learn a lot from French artists such as Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh and Henri Matisse. Guanzhong influenced Western oil painting practices with the traditional Eastern ink wash techniques. This blend brought a unique form of Chinese art. Guanzhong is credited with bringing Chinese painting to the global limelight, particularly his 1992 solo show in London’s British Museum. His paintings covered many aspects of Chinese culture such as animals, landscapes, and plants. Mae Zedong’s Cultural Revolution led to the loss of a considerable number of his artworks (Mentalich, 2020). Guanzhong is a leading figure in global contemporary art.
Zhao Mengfu
The painter and calligrapher lived during the Yuan descendant and were a descendant of the Song dynasty. He was one of the first literati painters. His painting style was inspired by personal expression and not the usual nature depictions. Zhao is one of the big 4 Regular script masters in Chinese art history. He was renowned for his prowess in painting horses. Zhao also painted landscapes, bamboos, and other animals. His painting works exhibited an expert use of brushwork. Some of his famous works include Twin Pines, Level Distance, Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains (China Online Museum, 2020).
Conclusion
Chinese rich history has produced various transformative figures in the art world. The presence of several dynastic inspired many artistic forms. As seen in the paper, the Chinese value was depicting natural features such as trees, animals, mountains, and rivers in their paintings. The artworks of these legendary figures continue to influence many young artists in China. Further, the infusion of Western art and ancient Chinese art continues to produce a unique flavor of Chinese art.