8.
Chinese painting (perspective): *
Chinese art from the 3rd Century A.D (for Spengler the Winter period of the Chinese Civilization) reflects a fundamental feature: the dominant use of lines. Their paintings show no concept of realistic space. Artists expressed conceptually with lines. Chinese artists have long been aware of abstraction in their observations: the world consists of shapes & forms, with mass. Diffused Perspective (rather than Linear) was used. The viewpoint of the stationary individual (common to Western art) was dismissed in favour of a broad scanning view area, allowing the artist, to take on an array of sights from a range of observers. This allowed him to convey the scene in its totality. The painter is not limited to a fixed point but moves creating a continuous series of vanishing points.
Western art aimed to capture a realistic picture of Nature. In China art represented a personal view of the world as distinct from the physical techniques used to present the world. Art in China embraces both thought & its application; the integration of the two was central. If art was just technique with no heart, the artist was nothing more than a craftsman. In Chinese landscape paintings the artist embeds their personal feelings & emotions into the image, which is a higher priority than depicting exact details & appearance of the object. White spaces and broad strokes are used. They are not unfinished or empty spaces but are an integral part of a painting, aiming to inspire viewers to think & imagine. Art critics have also noted that the slightness of Chinese landscape painting (the spare lines, the voids) is central to their purpose: to enlist the viewer as an active participant in the creative process.
Travelers among Mountains and Streams by Fan Kuan (950–1032)
He was a Chinese landscape painter during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD). A native of Huayuan, Shaanxi Province, he often traveled the area between the capital and Luoyang. Although he was known for his magnanimous character, straightforward personality, and fondness of
drink and Daoism, Fan Kuan is famous now for his landscape painting.
