The Six Qualities
of Painting
- To display brushstroke power with
good brushwork control
- To posses sturdy simplicity with
refinement of true talent
- To possess delicacy of skill with
vigor of execution.
- To exhibit originality, even to
the point of eccentricity, without violating the li(the principles or
essence) of things.
- In rendering space by leaving the
silk or paper untouched, to be able nevertheless to convey nuances of
tone.
- On the flatness of the picture
plane, to achieve depth and space
-
"Lu Ch'ang",
quoted from an early XI-century
work of biographies of painters of the Five Dynasties and Northern Sung
Periods
The Twelve Things
to Avoid in Painting
- To avoid is a crowded, ill
arranged composition (composition)
- Far and near not clearly
distinguished (composition)
- Mountains without Ch’i, the pulse
of life
- Referring not only to the need for
pictorial vitality created by composition with a quality of spirit,
particularly since mountains were symbols of life. Of the Yang (of
Heaven and the Spirit)
- Water with no indication of its
source
- The element regarded as a source
of life and associated with the Yin.
- Scenes lacking any places made
inaccessible by nature(natural and logical)
- Where man has ventured, paths are
a sign of his presence and should naturally lead somewhere.
- Paths with no indication of
beginning and end
- Stones and rocks with one face
- The rock has 3 faces, referring to
the third dimension and technical skill in rendering it .
- Trees with less than four main
branches
- The tree has four main branches
and is represented as having solidity, roundness, and unity
- Figures unnaturally distorted
- Emphasize fitness based on
naturalness, contributing to the harmony of the parts and the whole of
a painting. Figures not only should be undistorted but should be
shown in action, their position and mood in tune with the rest of the
painting and thus with the order of nature.
- Buildings and pavilions
inappropriately placed
- Houses, pavilions, bridges,
waterwheels, or boats, never overshadow other elements in the picture
but contribute to its main theme, usually some aspect of nature rather
than of human activity.
- Atmospheric effects of mist and
clearness neglected
- Color applied without method
- Mountains and water are not only
the main structural elements in a landscape painting, but serve as
symbols of the Yin and Yang. They are structural ideas, hence the
significance of the term ShanShui (mountain water) for landscape
pictures.
-
"Shih Erh Chi",
quoted from a XIII-century work by Jao
Tzu-jan
|
|
