Chinese Literati Painting: Key Features, History, And Comparison With Western Art

Chinese Literati Painters: Western Art History

The Lack of Literati Painters in Western Art History

The study aims to discuss the different aspects of Chinese art while exclusively shedding light on the literati painters and their work. The whole course of the discussion mainly focuses on the key features of the Chinese literati art work at the same time; it draws comparisons from the western painters of modern history (Vampelj Suhadolnik 2013). Thus the study begins by throwing the light on the lack of literati painters in Western art history. The discussion proceeds by elucidating the history of Chinese literati art work and the key features of literati paintings.

As the name suggests the painters or the artists of the genre solely belong from the literati class which is the educated class of the society. When the concept of literati painting originated in the world of Chinese art and painting, it was observed that there has been significant literacy among the Chinese people, the literati class. However, the western art society was observed with the lack of literati artists which is one of the main reasons that the emptiness regarding the concept of literati painting prevailed there (Vampelj Suhadolnik 2013). The literati artists were driven by the inner motivation. More than showcasing the creation to the world, literati painters would create art out of self entertainment. However the western art sphere was influenced by completely different aspect. The western artists were never created artwork out of fulfilling the self satisfaction. Literati painting have been considered as one of the most unique style of art. As suggested by the name, the artist mostly belongs to the educated class of the society. The literati art form is the combination of the several other art forms like graphical, poetry and calligraphy and so on (Park 2017). The concept of literati painting was put forwarded by the famous painter Su Shi. The painter as well as the renowned artist explained the concept of literati painting. According to his point of view, literati painting are influenced by the human nature. Along with that, in most of the paintings, the key feature is mostly found is the fine art. Other features of literati paintings include character, knowledge, talent and thinking respectively (Vampelj Suhadolnik 2013). These four elements are recommended in order to create a perfect piece of literati painting. During the early ages, the art was limited within the concept of self-entertainment. These distinctive features of the Chinese literati painting were not found in the paintings of tithe western art.

The History and Key Features of Chinese Literati Art

Literati painters were the concept that was first formulated in China during the reign of Bei Song dynasty. Later in 1368, the concept secured a firm tradition under the rule of Ming dynasty. In the regard, it must deserve mention that most of the educated people of China valued Literati paintings more than mere academic painting (Silbergeld 2015). Before proceeding the discussion, the concept of literati painting must be explained. Literati painting or what is most popularly known as Wenrenhua is the form of art work in which the Chinese scholar painters focuses more on the personal expression and erudition than literal representation. As the name suggests the painters or the artists of the genre solely belong from the literati class which is the educated class of the society.

When the concept of literati painting originated in the world of Chinese art and painting, it was observed that there has been significant literacy among the Chinese people, the literati class. The one of the key features of the literati painters is that it is contemplative. Since 1368, the literati artwork has been contributing to a greater extent as well as enriching the Chinese culture and art (Wang 2014). The Chinese literati art work was exclusively the contribution of the Chinese Literati class from which the name of the art was derived from. The first Literati painter was the famous Dong Qichang who was thought to have identified the two lineages of literati painters. The very first lineage was the ‘southern school’ which began with the tang dynasty’s poet-painter Wang Wei and then continued with Dong Yuan as well as Juran and Mi Fu in the five dynasty period. The second lineage was the artists of Wu School during end of 15^th and the beginning of 16^th centuries (Bush 2012). Their works have been categorized on the basis of subjective as well as personal and most importantly the expressive treatment of the actual world. The purpose of these above mentioned artists was not to depict the environment or nature in a realistic manner rather their purpose was to express their own artistic spirit.

Literati painting have been considered as one of the most unique style of art. As suggested by the name, the artist mostly belongs to the educated class of the society. The literati art form is the combination of the several other art forms like grafica, poetry and calligraphy and so on. The concept of literati painting was put forwarded by the famous painter Su Shi (Cahill 2010). The painter as well as the renowned artist explained the concept of literati painting. According to his point of view, literati painting are influenced by the human nature. Along with that, in most of the paintings, the key feature is mostly found is the fine art. Other features of literati paintings include character, knowledge, talent and thinking respectively (Wong 2000). These four elements are recommended in order to create a perfect piece of literati painting. During the early ages, the art was limited within the concept of self-entertainment.

Comparison between Chinese Literati Painting and Western Art

Conclusion

Thus in the conclusion, it will right to state that literati painting has been considered as one of the most unique style of art. As suggested by the name, the artist mostly belongs to the educated class of the society. The literati art form is the combination of the several other art forms like graphica, poetry and calligraphy and so on.  The concept that was first formulated in China during the reign of Bei Song dynasty. Later in 1368, the concept secured a firm tradition under the rule of Ming dynasty. In this regard, it must deserve mention that most of the educated people of China valued Literati paintings more than mere academic writing. Before proceeding the discussion, the concept of literati painting must be explained. Literati painting or what is most popularly known as Wenrenhua is the form of art work in which the Chinese scholar painters focuses more on the personal expression and erudition than literal representation. Therefore, the study aims to discuss the different aspects of Chinese art while exclusively shedding light on the literati painters and their work. The whole course of the discussion mainly focuses on the key features of the Chinese literati art work at the same time; it draws comparisons from the western painters of modern history. Thus the study begins by throwing the light on the lack of literati painters in Western art history. The discussion proceeds by elucidating the history of Chinese literati art work and the key features of literati paintings.

References

Bush, S., 2012. The Chinese Literati on Painting: Su Shih (1037-1101) to Tung Ch’i-ch’ang (1555-1636) (Vol. 1). Hong Kong University Press.

Cahill, J., 2010. Pictures for Use and Pleasure: Vernacular Painting in High Qing China. University of California Press.

McDermott, J.P., 2006. A social history of the Chinese book: books and literati culture in late imperial China (Vol. 1). Hong Kong University Press.

Park, J.P., 2017. Art by the Book: Painting Manuals and the Leisure Life in Late Ming China. University of Washington Press.

Silbergeld, J., 2015. On the Origins of Literati Painting in the Song Dynasty. A Companion to Chinese Art, pp.474-98.

Vampelj Suhadolnik, N., 2013. Chen Shizeng’s Theory Of Subjectivity: The Influence Of Chinese Literati Painting On The Artistic Search For Western Modern-‘Isms’In The Republican Era. Dve domovini, 37, pp.93-102.

Wang, C.H., 2014. A Global Perspective on Eighteenth-Century Chinese Art and Visual Culture. The Art Bulletin, 96(4), pp.379-394.

Wong, A.Y., 2000. A new life for literati painting in the early twentieth century: Eastern art and modernity, a transcultural narrative?. Artibus Asiae, 60(2), pp.297-326.