Formal visual analysis of Zhang Daqian's work: Entrance of Bade Garden - Essay Example

Formal visual analysis of Zhang Daqian's work: Entrance of Bade Garden This work of art portrays images of rocks, weeds and shrubs of varied sizes and shapes in an ink medium. The artwork is 40cm in height and 52.2 cm in width. Zhang Daqian’s Entrance of Bade Garden, is composed of several formal elements such as lines, light, color, texture, shapes, medium and forms that serve to unify the composition. Extensive use of a number of colors and shades is immediately noticeable on first look at this work of art.

The weeds and shrubs are represented in different shades of green from light to dark, which assists in defining different lines in the composition (Thorp & Vinograd, 2001). In addition, some parts of the leaves are bluish in color perhaps separating the normal leaves from the flowery leaves. Similarly, the rocks are also represented in varied colors such as sandy brown, light grey and dark grey. Some parts of the rocks resemble the color of the ground; other parts are dark grey while other parts are light grey.

There exist three different colors or shades in some rocks, which establishes a relationship of the different parts of the composition. Likewise, the background colors are in two shades of sandy brown, that is, light brown at the forefront and dark at the back, which defines and differentiates the shapes. Another element of visual analysis used in this photo is texture. The surface of the rocks, which irregularly jut out to create a knobby raised pattern seem rough, grainy and scratchy, and one would think that touching them would feel like running one’s hand through a bale of hay that are so dry (Addiss, 1998).

The texture on the ground is also rough and bumpy representing the feeling or texture of sand dunes. Tiny waves are noticeable on the ground’s bumpy texture. However, the surface of the leaves from the small trees and weeds appear smoother than the rest of the objects. A touch on these leaves appears to have a velvet feel. There is also element of value created by the use of contrasted light and dark to unify the composition. In the midst of the dark shrubs, the light rocks throbs out of space contrasting each other and creating changes between values.

Furthermore, some of the rocks also have contrasting dark and light colors or tones as they are made of two different colors. For instance, the upper parts are light with brown color while the lower parts tend to be dark as dark as the color of trees, or having shades of grey. Extreme contrasts in this art work symbolize intense changes between values that contribute to a unified composition (Sullivan, 1999). Similarly, the artwork portrays great use of forms such as depth created by shapes of the objects.

Depth is created by use of lighter colors on the foreground and darker colors as the view shifts to the background. Overlapping shapes of the objects, especially the rocks and the trees also creates an illusion of dept in the artwork (Hsiao-ting, 2010). The objects on the foreground appear smaller, but as the view moves backwards, the objects become bigger and bigger. Similarly, the objects also display different heights whereby some of the rocks are exaggeratingly taller that the others, even taller that the small trees in the artwork.

All these play a great role in creating an illusion of depth, which contributes to the unification of this composition. Use is line is probably the most prominent element of visual analysis used in this artwork. This is because it is the building block that creates the different shapes of images seen in this artwork. Lines used in this artwork are thin, jagged and disconnected and creates complex shapes in the composition (Hsiao-ting, 2010). In addition, the lines guide a person’s view from one object or composition to another within the artwork.

In some instances, lines show curvy angular patterns, which breaks up the monotony of jagged lines used to define the shapes of the rocks. Moreover, the lines create embodying character and movement, as a well as a sense of structure that guides a viewer’s eye in understanding the different images that make up the composition. Individual elements combine and work together to create the composition of a photo, which demonstrates how individual parts are related to the whole. These play an essential part in revealing or expressing the content of a painting through visual analysis.

Zhang Daqian’s Entrance of Bade Garden uses several visual elements that make up the composition of the painting, and, consequently unifies it to represent a single form. These visual elements include color, value, form, lines among others. Color is seen in the use of different colors and shades, which defines different lines of the composition. Value is created by the contrast of dark and light extensively featured in the photo, which symbolize intense changes between values. Lines and forms are also featured to create building blocks for different images and illusion of depth respectively.

I would say that this artwork uses these elements effectively to produce a marvelous painting. References Addiss, S. (1998). The Art of Zen: Paintings and Calligraphy by Japanese Monks 1600-1925. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Hsiao-ting, W. (2010, December 13). The Art and Life of Chang Dai-chien. Retrieved from http://taipei.tzuchi.org.tw/tzquart/98winter/qw98-9.htm Sullivan, M. (1999). The Arts of China. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Thorp, R. L., & Vinograd, R. E. (2001). Chinese Art & Culture.

New York: Harry N. Abrams.