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- its calligraphic origin, line and associated brush work were considered the most important criteria for judging a painting though composition and the correct placing and contents of seals and calligraphic inscriptions on the paintings were also of some importance. Colour and chiaroscuro did not play any part until the 20th century.
The subject matter of Chinese painting prior to the 20th century was confined to three classes of subjects: (i) landscape, where the artist sought to create in his painting an idealized landscape almost entirely from his imagination where the viewer could commune with nature; paintings trying to reproduce nature itself were almost unknown, (ii) birds and flower painting which would, besides birds and flowers, include all that would fall within the category of still life in the West; and (iii) figure subjects.
The third category was never that popular and even in the 20th century there are few artists specializing in figure paintings, Fan Zeng (b. 1924) being one of the most notable exceptions.
Chinese watercolours had, by the start of the 20th century, become rather dull. The great period of Chinese painting art covered by the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties was several centuries in the past. Chinese paintings had become repetitive with endless copies of past paintings and styles following commentaries by influential art critics such as the early 17th century painter critic Dong Qichang (1555-1636).
Very few Chinese artists scholars or mandarins had ever visited the West before 1900 and in consequence Western art was a virtual closed book to them. This position changed completely in the 20th century with the increasing ease of travel, the diaspora caused by the fall of the empire (1912), the Japanese invasions of the 1935-1945 period and the Communist victory (1949), and the increasing availability of art books of all kinds with masterpieces of Western art illustrated in those books. Chinese artists eagerly absorbed these new influences and styles from the West and America and the Communist takeover with its revolutionary ideas encouraged a break with past styles. Initially the Communists discouraged influences thought of as being associated with capitalist western ideas but after the end of the Cultural revolution in 1976 a more open artistic environment was permitted. Moreover certain key artists such as Xu Beihong (1895-1953) travelled and received part of their artistic education abroad and brought back to China new ideas of all kinds. Others, such as most notably Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), spent most of their active years whilst abroad being exposed to many conflicting artistic influences, which, through their well publicized works, eventually filtered back to China. Taiwan with its active and open artistic community was particularly influential in the spread of new ideas.
Whilst retaining their calligraphic skills, new emphasis was placed on colour and depicting the real world with artists such as Qian Songyan (1898-1985) depicting red flags flying, electricity pylons, factories and everyday subjects. Artists all over China experi�mented with Western and American styles and new media. Abstracts, impressionist styles and collages were painted with some success. Even oil painting has been tried but with only limited success. I do not find this surprising in view of the grounding of Chinese art in calligraphy, an art form so incompatible with oils. Some of the younger artists now, however, appear to be having some success in this media, which I attribute mainly to their disregarding their traditional calligraphic foundations.
At the present time China has artists whose styles remind the viewer of Heronymus Bosch, Salvador Dali, Picasso, Modigliani, Mondrian, Mark Rothko and many other Western and American artists of the 20th century and earlier periods.
The blend of old Chinese painting styles with those introduced from the West and America seems to have imbued Chinese art by the 1990s with a new vitality. However, with its limited range of subject, media, and styles it is unlikely that Chinese painting can ever be turned into a world art style. Western art has, I believe, something to learn from Chinese art of the 20th century. It is my hope that some day a major exhibition of this genre in the West might well stimulate Western Art to absorb the best of Chinese art into Western art styles and lead the West to developing a true world art style.
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