Ceci n'est pas une pipe: A landscape is not just a landscape. How did the technique, value, and meaning of landscape paintings shift in China over time? How were the varying zeitgeists, such as isolation, international humiliation, flourishing periods of cultural growth, contained in the Tang-Contemporary period represented in the landscape paintings?
Types of Brush Strokes Utilised in Landscapes:
-飛白 / "flying white": a calligraphic effect created when the tip of the brush begins to dry and separate, causing a single stroke to appear as a group of delicate parallel lines
-axe-cut strokes
-hemp fibre strokes: brush strokes that appear like long, wavy lines of fibre - associated with the Five Dynasties Period
Techniques
-工笔 / "tidy craftsmanship": the careful, meticulous style of Chinese calligraphy and art, use of colour, highly detailed brushstrokes of many varities
-寫意/"sketching thoughts": interpretative, more abstract, less realistic, more dramatic and dark use of blacks and whites
-飛白 / "flying white": a calligraphic effect created when the tip of the brush begins to dry and separate, causing a single stroke to appear as a group of delicate parallel lines
-axe-cut strokes
-hemp fibre strokes: brush strokes that appear like long, wavy lines of fibre - associated with the Five Dynasties Period
Techniques
-工笔 / "tidy craftsmanship": the careful, meticulous style of Chinese calligraphy and art, use of colour, highly detailed brushstrokes of many varities
-寫意/"sketching thoughts": interpretative, more abstract, less realistic, more dramatic and dark use of blacks and whites
| The Evolution of Chinese Landscape as it Reflects the Evolution of Chinese History: 唐朝艺术 [táng cháo] 618-907 The Tang Dynasty was a period of unparalleled order, advancement, and cultural flourishing for China, and is often known as part of the Golden Age. Landscapes from this period reflect this archaic and elegant style. As the Tang disintegrated, with it taking away the illusions of a permanent, stable system of rule for the citizens of China, the concept of the viewer's withdrawal into nature became a paramount feature of the art form, as citizens faced the terrifying realities of a decaying dynasty. |  "Poet Strolling By a Marshy Bank", Liang Kai, Tang Dynasty, The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
A Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) era Chinese painting of a water-powered mill for grain, with surrounding river transport; a Northern Song Dynasty Artist
宋朝 [sòng cháo] 960-1279
After the decay of the Tang, a new Golden Age formed, a well-organised bureaucracy and time of more advancement known as the Song. Landscape paintings became a way for artists to exert order into the natural world just as the dynasty exerted order upon the people, this order was respected and loved as a means of maintaining the technological, scientific, and cultural heights of China. The paintings from this period are darker in colour and more naturalistic, in addition to being very detail-oriented and reflecting man's control over nature.
宋朝 [sòng cháo] 960-1279
After the decay of the Tang, a new Golden Age formed, a well-organised bureaucracy and time of more advancement known as the Song. Landscape paintings became a way for artists to exert order into the natural world just as the dynasty exerted order upon the people, this order was respected and loved as a means of maintaining the technological, scientific, and cultural heights of China. The paintings from this period are darker in colour and more naturalistic, in addition to being very detail-oriented and reflecting man's control over nature.
| 元朝 [yuán cháo] 1271-1368 An outside group of rulers, China's northern neighbours - the Mongols - took over, ending the Song Dynasty. China was devastated and the developing national identity suffered under the realities of the take over. Within the art realm, the disenfranchised former elite of the Song channeled this isolation and desperation into nonrealistic landscape paintings, known as the literati. They tended to use more dramatic colour and were much less concerned with realism than earlier dynastic periods. |  "Stalks of Bamboo By a Rock", Wu Zhen, 1347, 53 x 70 cm, National Palace Museum, Beijing |
"Walking By A Mountain Stream", Shen Zhou, 1368-1644, Freer and Sackler Galleries 明朝 [míng cháo] 1368-1644
Finally, China was again controlled by the Chinese. The Ming Dynast revived the traditions of the Song following a long-awaited expelling of the Mongol rulers, and a new national identity flourished. With the elites and artists vindicated, the art of this period was again marked by well-organised landscapes with dynamic compositions. There is stark contrast between this period and the earlier Yuan dynasty. Painters became once again concerned with realism, interested in illustrating the beauty and spirituality found in nature. The darkness and abstractness of the Yuan were nowhere to be found in the new Ming Dynasty.
Finally, China was again controlled by the Chinese. The Ming Dynast revived the traditions of the Song following a long-awaited expelling of the Mongol rulers, and a new national identity flourished. With the elites and artists vindicated, the art of this period was again marked by well-organised landscapes with dynamic compositions. There is stark contrast between this period and the earlier Yuan dynasty. Painters became once again concerned with realism, interested in illustrating the beauty and spirituality found in nature. The darkness and abstractness of the Yuan were nowhere to be found in the new Ming Dynasty.
| 清朝 [qīng cháo] 1644-1912 Again, China overtaken by outsiders, this time the Manchus, although in contrast to the Mongols the Manchus embraced Chinese culture including the literati style. They provided monetary sponsorship to the literati types. The Manchus took great steps to preserve and encourage classical art forms, and while the national identity again languished in confusion over the outsider control, said outsiders took great steps to ensure the preservation and continuation of classical Chinese landscape. |  "Landscape", Wang Hui, 1674 or 1677, 22 x 44 cm, The Met |
Below, a Chinese landscape artist will demonstrate some of the most common techniques used in this classical art style. The video is in Chinese, but it's an excellent visual representation of less commonly known artistic techniques; it also gives you an idea of the huge variance between brushstrokes and the precision required to conduct these works.
"Viridescence", Yang Yong Liang, 2009 当代 [dāng dài] -present
While classical Chinese art decreased under the Communist government, there is still an important role for landscape in contemporary Chinese art. A great example of an artist who continues to utilise the principles and techniques of earlier dynastic periods is Yang Yong Liang (1980-). He studied traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting in Shanghai as a young man, and he now seeks to combine these ancient techniques with elements of modern cityscapes and contemporary content. His art echoes contemporary concerns about the environment of China, the impact of global climate change, smog, and other national concerns. While the age of state-sponsored landscape as a fundamental part of the Chinese cultural identity has ended, it's clear that the techniques and content from these earlier centuries still impacts art as a whole in China and in the diaspora.
In Art IV, I did my art radar trend project on Neotraditionalism in Contemporary Islamic Art, which reminds me a lot of Yang Yong Liang and other similar artists' efforts to juxtapose traditional techniques with modern content and composition. Shahzia Sikander, a Pakistani artist, was trained in classical Persian miniature painting, and utilises her knowledge of this ancient art form to make commentary on the perception of Muslim women in Western cultures.
While classical Chinese art decreased under the Communist government, there is still an important role for landscape in contemporary Chinese art. A great example of an artist who continues to utilise the principles and techniques of earlier dynastic periods is Yang Yong Liang (1980-). He studied traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting in Shanghai as a young man, and he now seeks to combine these ancient techniques with elements of modern cityscapes and contemporary content. His art echoes contemporary concerns about the environment of China, the impact of global climate change, smog, and other national concerns. While the age of state-sponsored landscape as a fundamental part of the Chinese cultural identity has ended, it's clear that the techniques and content from these earlier centuries still impacts art as a whole in China and in the diaspora.
In Art IV, I did my art radar trend project on Neotraditionalism in Contemporary Islamic Art, which reminds me a lot of Yang Yong Liang and other similar artists' efforts to juxtapose traditional techniques with modern content and composition. Shahzia Sikander, a Pakistani artist, was trained in classical Persian miniature painting, and utilises her knowledge of this ancient art form to make commentary on the perception of Muslim women in Western cultures.
"A Wolf and Landmines", Yang Yong Liang, 2012
Still from "SpiNN", Shahzia Sikander, 2003 Description: Women's coiffures, transformed into black birds, invade a Mughal court in the video animation
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Chinese Landscape Painting." Khan Academy. British Museum, n.d. Web. 18 May 2016. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/imperial-china/song-dynasty/a/chinese-landscape-painting>.
"Chinese Literati Painting." Indiana University. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2016.
<http://www.indiana.edu/~ealc100/Art9.html>.
"Landscape Painting in Chinese Art." Met Museum. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2004. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/clpg/hd_clpg.htm>.
"Yang Yong Liang." Yang Yong Liang. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://www.yangyongliang.com/index.htm>.
"Chinese Literati Painting." Indiana University. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2016.
<http://www.indiana.edu/~ealc100/Art9.html>.
"Landscape Painting in Chinese Art." Met Museum. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2004. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/clpg/hd_clpg.htm>.
"Yang Yong Liang." Yang Yong Liang. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://www.yangyongliang.com/index.htm>.
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