Text and Image in Landscape Painting - Essay Example

The Nature of Painting/Painting of Nature: Text and Image in Landscape Painting In first looking at this painting, one is struck by its history andserene beauty. Without knowing its age, one can assume a long history by the colors and techniques, even though the same brush techniques are still used. The backing silk has darkened with age and some of the details of the painting have been lost. However, it is a painting which invites contemplation by its beauty and structure. This fits well with the philosophy expressed in these documents: Guo Xi’s essay “Sha-Shui Hsun” (comments on landscape), and Susan Bush’s “Early Chinese Texts on Painting.” In fact, after reading the documents and returning to the painting, they add a new dimension of understanding of the techniques and the content of the painting. Together they allow a deeper appreciation of both the art and the artist, plus a broader understanding of the genre. This silk panel is filled with intricate detail, while it retains the impressionistic character of Chinese silk paintings. The brush techniques used allow the deposit of varying amounts of ink from different parts of the brush. The technique took many years of practice to perfect, especially in consideration of the medium and the canvas: ink from solid sticks and silk. The brushes were very soft and it was difficult to learn to control them. One can imagine that many many practice paintings were done before the various techniques were mastered. Chinese silk painting is not an art one can master overnight. It is easy to believe that the artists of the day, including Guo Xi, did extensive travel in order to investigate all the various landscapes around, and then, having once chosen one to paint, spent hours, or even days, contemplating the scene they were going to paint. It is obvious at close inspection that there are many layers to this painting, and knowing the characteristics of the block ink, it had to be done slowly, a little at a time. We can imagine that the artist applied layer after layer of almost transparent ink before daring to add any details with a drier brush. Guo Xi’s document begins with an appreciation of what such paintings can do for busy men, especially rulers and others with heavy responsibility. He also talks about the responsibility of the artist, that he must take his art seriously, and look at the landscapes with deep appreciation in order do justice to the creator’s work. He mentions that his work is done to please the mind of another and how that is his goal. Guo Xi next talks about how such paintings should be viewed with humility and from a distance. This painting is done in a large format as a long wall hanging. Its size and shape makes it nearly impossible to view it up close, because one cannot possibly see the whole thing close up. The style of the painting as a vertical panorama makes the viewer want to back away in order to see the whole thing. Therefore, Guo Xi has succeeded admirably in insuring that the painting is viewed properly Guo Xi says that landscapes should be large, and that among them there are four types: those fit to walk through, those fit to contemplate, those fit to ramble in and those fit to live in. He allocates the highest importance to the last two. He rates these according to the value and beauty of the content. He states that many paintings are judges now to be fit to idle or dwell in, but they do not measure up to his standards. He seems to be saying that even the most impressionistic portions of a painting must be beautiful, that nothing should be done carelessly. He says that the artist must seek out those places fill with beauty and then faithfully reproduce that beauty for others. The artists of Guo Xi’s time, more than those of today, carefully studied the masters, as did the poets, calligraphers and writers. It was an effort to emulate them and learn their perfection. This is one reason, perhaps, why Chinese landscape painting has changed so little over time. The art is passed down from master to students. The aim of this kind of painting is not to express one’s self, but to emulate the master and do justice to the beauty of the creator’s magnificence. Yet, he says that each student must learn all the styles and imitate none in order to develop his own style. This seems somewhat contradictory and it is, perhaps, impossible. There is so much traditional similarity among Chinese landscape paintings, that learning to discern individual styles is a matter requiring much more study than for western art. Guo Xi describes paintings as needing decision, vigour and completeness from the artist to attain perfection. He describes the process which his father followed for producing paintings and doing each one over and over until perfection was achieved. This sort of thing is evident in this painting. One cannot imagine that this work was done either in one sitting or before much practice had been done. It is incredible to think that this painting might have been done many times before the artist considered it good enough to keep. Next Guo Xi discusses the various aspects of landscapes, and the individual requirements for each of the major parts of landscapes. He described the different attributes that each should have. He says that weather should be seen from a distance while certain objects, such as people, serve to highlight others, such as pathways. Buildings highlight nature and trees divide the distances into near and far. He talks about how things appear differently during different seasons. To Guo Xi, composition was everything and he described in great detail the hierarchy of the elements of landscapes and how they should look. For him, each element of a landscape had its place in the order of things, and landscapes, which should be large, should, never-the-less, include all the required elements, no more nor less. Mountains topped his hierarchical structure and tall straight pines took the top place among trees and vegetation. He believed that when such perfection were achieved, the men looking at the resulting painting would feel like they were there. Guo Xi describes mountains as needing to be painted with order from the most high and dominant to the smallest hill at the foot. Somewhat more difficult to understand are Guo Xi’s descriptions of how water should be painted: with order and confusion, whirling, splashing and overflowing, reaching the far points of the landscape. When first read, this seems contradictory, but it really only mandates showing water in all its various stages and forms. He devotes even more of his words to more description of water and what the artist should show in further paragraphs. It would seem that Guo Xi considered three things to be of primary importance: mountains, trees and water. Guo Xi believed that many painters of his day did not have broad enough experience to produce fine art. He believed an artist must see many different places and see them all at all different seasons and different times of the day in order to see them in all their different views. He believed that the artist needed to see water in all its different forms and hear its different sounds. He believed the artist needed to be filled with the essence of the places he painted before he could do them justice and that most artists of his day were too impatient and could not reach that level. The way in which Guo Xi described nature and its power impacted how he painted landscapes. He carefully picked every element and placed each in its perfect hierarchical place. Painting ; landscapes was not a leisurely activity, but a serious vocation which required much diligent study, both in technique and composition. His painting shows a mountain perfectly painted with the described attributes in hierarchical order. There are no human figures, but there are lovely buildings at the top which show human habitation, and which serve to contrast nature to human creativity. Oddly enough, most, if not all, of his descriptions relate to mountains, which, he says, must have clouds, trees, water and grass. By contrast, Susan Bush’s collection of texts on early Chinese paintings focuses more on how the artist experiences nature and what of those feelings can be discerned in the painting. Kuo Hsi seems to have also forgotten to physical aspects of painting. Even though, someone follows his footsteps. He describes the artist as rather solitary, yet he finds solace and companionship in nature. It would seem that the process is far more important than the progress. He believed that artists needed to escape the real world in order to see the landscape in all its splendor. Further, this was necessary in order for the artist to be prepared for his art. This document also points out that the viewer of a great work of a master painter must devote sufficient time to simply absorbing nature before he should try to paint it. All aspects of a mountain must be studied or the power will not infuse the painting. Their aspects must be studied from all possible viewpoints. This article is not so specific as Guo Xi’s own work, but there are clearly comparisons made for children. By reading these documents one gets an understanding of the motivation and the broad education of the artist. The documents explain the similarities among Chinese landscape paintings even among paintings from different eras. Judging paintings according to these texts is much like judging a diving competition. There is a perfect form and anything else is less. That perfect form is dictated by the philosophical studies of the masters and their critics. Guo Xi’s work seems to meet most of the described criteria, perhaps with some aspects of elements missing. Mountains, for example, are described as having hierarchical order, as having significance in placement, distance and in what is found with them. Guo Xi’s painting seems to fulfill only some of these, his own, requirements. For example, the mountain here seems to have only round boulders, even though they do differ in size. However, the top is much further away than the bottom, so he does meet this criteria. Water is shown at several different levels and in several different states, plus there are clouds behind the mountain. The stream which tumbles down the mountainside is shown in a smooth stream, in several different sizes of falls and in a bubbling pool at the foot of the mountain. This fulfills his requirements for painting water and including it with the mountain. The trees do not really fit his descriptions either, most being bare and somewhat twisted. There is the tall pine at the top, but it is anything but straight. It actually curves quite a lot, almost bowing. In terms of light and shadow, these are particularly well defined. The contrast varies, and has probably diminishes over time. However, there are simply many different areas of light and shadow, and there are really no empty spaces. Even spaces lacking any element are shadowed or illumined. The patterns give texture to the painting, even though this style is almost two dimensional. The brush strokes do vary the texture or, from very smooth to misty or hazy to rough and even to the rough surfaces of rock. The bare branched trees are given a bit more sharpness and jagged edges. These tend to stand out as the artist placed them against the light. Those areas which are not filled with artifacts have patterns of light and shadow. When this was newly done, the painting must have been very famous indeed. There is a hint or two that there used to be more color to this painting, not the least of which is the underlying painting sketch. Some parts of the buildings seem to have no black content. For the most part, the elaborate set of buildings is the only sign of human habitation. However, there may be two figures at the pool of water at the bottom, admiring it. These figures are not clear, so one cannot really be certain they are meant to be human figures. There do not seem to be any human figures anywhere else, and no paths are seen either. It makes on wonder how anyone gto to the top where the set of fancy houses are quietly nestled in between the higher rockface which rises up on the left and the top of the right hand rockface. One can imagine the serenity of life in that house with all the magnificent scenery surrounding it. One can also imagine that the inhabitants have a life of ease, since they can afford to stay away from more populous regions. One thing which I learned from research and from talking with people who have visited certain regions of China, is that this kind of scenery actually does exist. There are remote areas of China where the people actually live in amongst the clouds. This seems ideal and is certainly idealized by this amd many other Chinese landscape artists. In many ways, these men were extremely privileged, and they led particularly interesting and fulfilling lives. They enjoyed immense freedom, respect and often enjoyed the hospitality of others in addition to their patrons. China has always revered talent and wisdom. Since most considered that these artists had both, their lives were relatively easy. As an example of early Chinese painters, Guo Xi is somewhat typical, though exemplary. He followed in his father’s footsteps, learning much from him and remembering anything of import ever said. He learned both the technique and the internal programming required in order to become a landscape artist. His father was famous, but died rather young, and he left a body of work from which others could learn and apply principals of Chinese art. Guo Xi added to this work, including a great set of manuscripts which explain much of the reasons behind the stylized works. Having the texts and knowing that his father was also a painter has provided a great deal more than simply looking at the painting. One simply cannot understand why Chinese landscape painting encompasses so many different sizes and shapes until one realizes that this vocation offered a good life but required total commitment on the part of the artist. When one considers that many Chinese paintings included calligraphy or were simply calligraphy, one can begin to understand the need for North American students to study the surrounding traditions for the families References Add the two articles here Read More