Chinese landscape paintings, rooted in ancient traditions and philosophical principles, offer a serene, calming beauty, intricate detail, and profound symbolism, revealing the country's natural landscapes, auteur's emotions, and cultural and spiritual heritage.
Landscape painting in China, a genre that flourished during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, was pioneered by artists like Wang Wei and Li Cheng during the Tang dynasty, focusing on capturing the painter's dynamic state rather than reproducing the work.
Between 1127 and 1279 CE, the 'Southern Song' style emerged in Chinese landscape painting, focusing on intimacy and connection between landscape and poetry. Artists like Ma Yuan and Xia Gui used symmetrical lines, perspective, and space coherence, while Xia Gui used light, shade, and texture.
The Ming dynasty revived classical painting techniques, incorporating Yuan and Song styles and introducing the 'blue-and-green' landscape style with bold compositions and dramatic movement.
Chinese landscape painting uses the 'Four Treasures of the Study': brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Brushes are made from animal hair, ink is made from soot and water, and paper is absorbent and flexible.
Chinese landscape paintings reflect the artist's worldview, symbolizing cosmic forces and existential truths, with mountains being a particularly significant symbol.
Chinese landscape painting often features water, representing life's flow, time, and cyclical nature, while trees and rocks symbolize resilience, perseverance, and inner strength, with pine trees representing longevity and wisdom.