History of Watercolor Painting

How old are watercolors

People have been using illustrations for over 3,000 years now.

Originally, a fibrous plant called Papyrus was found along the Nile River in Egypt, and the bark of its stems was taken and made into scrolls that were used for writing and drawing, and for making scrolls about science, history, witchcraft, and religion. Another important use of these scrolls was for burial, accompanying the dead to the other world, where the writing on them helped them explain their life's work to the god of the underworld, Osiris.

The images on the scrolls, which came to be known as miniatures, were painted in transparent colors. The earthy yellows and ochres were taken from the earth; the reds were taken from minerals of the vermilion type; the stone-green was blue, the stone-green green, the earthy yellows yellow, and the wormwood gums orange; the blacks were made from willow charcoal, and the whites were made from chalk.

All these colors are tempered with gum arabic with egg white and diluted with water. In short, this is watercolor.

A hundred-year history of watercolor

A hundred-year history of watercolor

China's Centennial Watercolor Exhibition After three years of preparations, several national symposiums, a wide range of watercolor painters and relatives of deceased painters, and after a rigorous comparative screening, and multi-directional relevant art museums, museums, fine arts colleges and universities loaned some of the exhibits, is the most systematic and comprehensive exhibition of works of the development of watercolors in the history of China. It is the most systematic and comprehensive exhibition in the history of Chinese watercolor painting.

The exhibition includes more than 300 important works by representative painters from various development periods of Chinese watercolor painting since 1905. During the budding period of Chinese watercolor painting from 1864 to 1911, Xu Yongqing (1880-1953), the first generation of Chinese watercolor painters nurtured by foreign missionaries in Shanghai's "Tushanwan Painting Hall", which was known as the "cradle of Western painting", had his works on display for 20 years. Xu Yongqing (1880-1953) exhibited his life drawing of the West Lake in Hangzhou in the early 20th century; Li Tiefu (1869-1952), the first Chinese watercolor artist to study abroad, exhibited his early watercolor still life Vase of Flowers; and Li Shutong (1880-1942) exhibited a landscape painting he painted on a postcard in 1905. In the growth period of Chinese watercolor painting from 1911 to 1949, a large number of later accomplished watercolor painters emerged, and their works have begun to show a trend of diversified development, reflecting the achievements of the growth period of Chinese watercolor painting, which is the first *** in the history of the development of Chinese watercolor painting, including: Zhang Meisun, Guan Guangzhi, Li Jianchen, Hang Arya Ying, Pan Sitong, Zhang Congzhi, and Li Shuitong, who were all artists in the early days of Chinese watercolor painting. Including: Zhang Meisun, Guan Guangzhi, Li Jianchen, Hang Zhiwei, Pan Sitong, Zhang Chanyin, Wang Zhaomin, Yang Sun these most influential painters in the history of Chinese watercolor in this exhibition have their masterpieces on display.

Most of this group of painters have been ancient, only Mr. Yang Sun is still alive, this year has been almost one hundred years old, their works are the fusion of East and West, the results of life-oriented, but also reflects the unique pursuit of each painter's art, today it seems, there is still a great deal of reference significance; in the development of Chinese watercolors in the 1949-1965 period, the above painters have a new achievement, and the painters grew up in the Revolutionary War and the successor from the Revolutionary War, the painters have a new achievement. The painters who grew up in the Revolutionary War and those who returned from overseas successively injected new vitality into Chinese watercolors, and these painters, such as Gu Yuan, Shao Yu, Shen Roujian, Wu Guanzhong, and Xiao Shufang, etc., all had unique works on display in this exhibition. 1954 National Watercolor and Sketch Exhibition was a review of the creative achievements of the time, and the masterpieces in that exhibition, such as Dai Ze's paintings, are still very relevant today.

This stage is the second **** in the history of Chinese watercolor painting, **** there are more than 50 works in this exhibition. 1978 to the present is the reform and prosperity of Chinese watercolor painting, but also the history of the development of Chinese watercolor painting is the most ***, in this stage, the National Exhibition of Fine Arts four separate watercolor exhibition, the National Watercolor, Pastel Exhibition was held seven, new authors continue to emerge, the creation of unprecedented activity, Chinese watercolor paintings have been rid of just "sketches" and "light". Chinese watercolor painting has got rid of the limitations of "sketches" and "light music", greatly enhanced the expressive power of watercolor painting, expanded the functions of watercolor painting, enriched the forms of expression and methods of watercolor painting, and initially formed its own "Chinese Watercolor Painting" style with Chinese national characteristics, the spirit of the times, and personal styles. "The works of this stage have more than 200 pieces in this exhibition, including the works that won the gold and silver medals in the previous exhibitions, and also including the new works of some old painters, from which you can have a glance at the whole picture of the latest development of Chinese watercolors.

Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are representative of the works of watercolor painters, is also on display in this exhibition, including Taiwan's late famous watercolor paintings Ma Baishui, Li Zefan, Xi Dejin's works and today's Hong Kong's famous watercolor artists Jiang Qiming, Ouyang Naiyan, Macao's famous watercolor artist Liao Wenchang, Taiwan's famous watercolor artist Li K'ung-pui, Yang Ensheng, Xie Ming-cheong's works. During the exhibition, will be published and distributed "China 100 years of watercolor painting collection" large-scale album, will also be held "China 100 years of watercolor painting symposium".

A hundred years of Chinese watercolor painting 1978 - now: the reform and prosperity of Chinese watercolor painting, but also the most *** in the history of the development of Chinese watercolor painting. In this stage, the National Exhibition of Art Works four times set up a separate watercolor section, the National Watercolor, Pastel Exhibition was also held seven times, new authors continue to emerge, the creation of unprecedented activity.

In 1984, when the Sixth National Art Exhibition was held, watercolor painting was set up for the first time in a separate exhibition area. With the growing team of authors, the creation of unprecedented activity, many other types of painters into watercolor painting, the art level rapidly improved.

In 1999, the Ninth National Art Exhibition, watercolor painting reached a new height, with Chinese painting and oil painting each won three gold medals. At present, at least 27 institutions of higher learning have established watercolor painting majors.

The team of watercolor painting authors is the largest among all kinds of paintings, and every time an exhibition is held, more than 2,000 works are sent to the exhibition. Chinese watercolor painting has got rid of the limitations of "sketches" and "light music", greatly enhanced the expressive power of watercolor painting, expanded the function of watercolor painting, enriched the expression of watercolor paintings and techniques, and initially formed its own "Chinese watercolor painting" style with Chinese national characteristics, the spirit of the times and personal style, and you can glance at a full picture of the latest development of watercolor painting from the works of this stage.

Controversy Chen Cusheng, a famous art critic and researcher at the National Art Museum of China, recently pointed out that some of the works are "more and more complex, more and more detailed carving", and that the characteristics of "water" have been forgotten. Still don't want the feeling of watercolor When it comes to watercolor painting, many people will recall the elementary school art class, a bucket of water, a box of watercolor paint, a few watercolor paintings.

The famous painter Wu Guanzhong also said "watercolor, watercolor, its characteristics in the 'water' and 'color'. Do not play the strengths of water, it is not strong than the expression of oil and pastel; do not play the characteristics of color, than the charm of ink painting and see inferior.

"Water plays a very important role in watercolor painting. In response to the preface of the exhibition, "Chinese watercolor painting has basically got rid of the limitation of being only 'sketches' and 'light music' or only as a means of 'introductory study' and 'collection of materials', which greatly enhances the expressive power of watercolors, expands the function of watercolors, and enriches the various forms of watercolors," Chen Cusheng proposed that watercolors are also required to express a specific theme, and to make a deep and meticulous drawing, and the characteristic of "water" will be unconsciously taken into account by people's attention, so that watercolors will not be used to express their own characteristics. The characteristics of "water" will be unconsciously forgotten.

"If the watercolor paintings of the 1950s and 1960s, which represented construction sites and real life, still retained the feeling of watercolor, then...the origin of watercolor paintings is not the same.

Origins of Watercolor

"Watercolor", as the name suggests, is the expression of painting using water as a medium for mixing pigments.

Therefore, the scope of watercolor painting can be extended to the scrolls of the ancient Egyptians, the exotic fine Persian paintings, the illustrations of the medieval European Bible manuscripts.

Although many ancient humans used pigments, resins, and water as a tool to record their lives and tell the story of their societies and civilizations, with the passage of time and the accumulation of knowledge, and through the 18th and 19th centuries, the rise of watercolors in Europe; in particular, the efforts of a number of watercolor painters in the United Kingdom to create a fruitful achievement, and from then on, watercolor paintings are approaching perfection. By the end of the 19th century, watercolor painting had developed a complete and independent system.

In a narrower definition, "watercolor" refers to the use of watercolors, using water as a diluted medium, to paint on paper. There are usually two main areas, Transparent Watercolor and Opaque Watercolor (Gouache).

With the advancement of technology and the production of new painting materials, watercolor painting in the 20th century was no longer limited to the two categories of Transparent Watercolor and Opaque Watercolor. All the materials that can be diluted with water for painting.

Such as Gesso, acrylic, transparent watercolor liquid, watercolor pencil, are included in the field of watercolor painting. (1) Origin of watercolors: Humans have been writing and illustrating books for three and a half thousand years.

Originally, a fibrous plant called Papyrus was found along the Nile River in Egypt, and the skin of its stems was taken and made into scrolls that were used for writing and drawing, and made into scrolls about science, history, witchcraft, and religion. Another important use of these scrolls was for burial, accompanying the dead to the other world, where the writing on them helped them explain their life's work to the god of the underworld, Osiris.

The portraits on the scrolls, which came to be known as miniatures, were painted in transparent colors. The earthy yellows and ochres were taken from the earth; the reds were taken from minerals of the vermilion type; the stone-green was blue, the stone-green green, the earthy yellows yellow, and the wormwood gums orange; the blacks were made from willow charcoal, and the whites were made from chalk.

All these colors are tempered with gum arabic with egg white and diluted with water. In short, this is watercolor.

A thousand years later, around 170 BC, King Eumenes II of Pagama pioneered the use of parchment. Taking sheepskin, treating it with lime, shearing off the wool, and then softening it with pumice, it became this new writing material.

These parchments were stapled into small booklets called codices, which were then bound together to make a parchment codex for posterity. Since then, manuscripts have always used parchment.

First to the ninth century AD, in Greece, Rome, Syria, and Byzantium, most of the miniatures were painted with an opaque watercolor mixed with lead white. And this was during the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne.

Charlemagne attached great importance to the creation of manuscripts, and he assembled a number of great painters who used transparent and opaque watercolors interchangeably. This mixture continued into the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, when watercolors were commonly used in miniatures.

In fact, these were the beginnings of watercolors. (2) The beginning of watercolor painting in Europe: In the 15th century, the German master Albrect Durer (1471~1528) not only left many woodcuts and copperplate masterpieces, but also painted many sketches of animals and plants, and fine landscapes with a sense of poeticism and perspective in the mood of appreciating nature.

Watercolors of the 16th and 17th centuries were painted in the Netherlands, but they were mostly monochromatic paintings in brown, or used as drafts for oil paintings. Poussin (Nicolas Poussin, 1594~1665), Van Gyne (Anthony Van Gyne, 1594~1665), and Poussin (1594~1665) were the first artists to use watercolor. Poussin (Nicolas Poussin, 1594~1665), Van Gyck (Anthony Van Gyck, 1599~1641) and Rembrandt Van Rym (1606~1669) and other painters, there are watercolors left, which in the later years of Van Gyck's life. Ike lived in England, as a court painter, painted some of the more complete watercolors; Rembrandt Van Rym in ink paintings on the light color of the style of watercolor paintings have advanced a lot of the performance method.

Although watercolors did not originate in England, the rainy, foggy, and sometimes sunny climate created an atmospheric atmosphere. It seems to have been particularly suited to watercolors.

Britain in the 18th century can be said to have cultivated a watercolor system of greenhouses; especially landscape painting, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, British watercolors have developed into an international painting art. The representative painter of this period, Paul Sandby (1725~1809), with his outstanding talent and diligent perseverance, made a lot of efforts to study the techniques of watercolor expression and the manufacture of pigments.

With his in-depth observation of nature, he took the popular watercolor topography one step further, expressing sunlight and air in colorful poems celebrating nature.

History of Watercolor

Watercolor, as its name implies, is the expression of painting with water as the medium for mixing pigments. In itself, it has two basic characteristics: the transparency of the pigment itself, and the fluidity of the water during the painting process. As a result, watercolor painting is different from other kinds of paintings in its appearance and creative techniques. The transparency of the pigment makes watercolor paintings produce a clear surface effect, while the fluidity of the water generates a drenching, natural and unrestrained interest.

Human beings have been writing and illustrating books for three and a half thousand years. Initially, people in Egypt along the Nile River found a called Papyrus (Papyrus), a fibrous plant, take its stem bark, can be made into scrolls, used to write and draw, made about science, history, witchcraft and religion of the scroll. Another important use of these scrolls was for burial, accompanying the dead to the other world, where the writing on them helped them explain their life's work to the god of the underworld, Osiris. The portraits on the scrolls, later known as miniatures, were painted in transparent colors. The earthy yellows and ochres were taken from clay; the reds were taken from minerals of the vermilion type; the stone green was blue, the stone green was green, the earthy yellows were yellow, and the wormwood gum was orange; the blacks were made from willow charcoal, and the whites were made from chalk. All of these colors are tempered with gum arabic with egg white and diluted with water. In short, this is watercolor.

A thousand years later, around 170 BC, King Eumenes II of Pagama pioneered the use of parchment. Taking sheepskin treated with lime, shearing off the wool, and softening it with pumice stone made this new writing material. These skins were stapled into small booklets called codexes, which were then bound together to make a parchment codex that would be handed down to future generations. Since then, manuscripts have been using parchment.

By the ninth century AD, in Greece, Rome, Syria, and Byzantium, most miniatures were painted with an opaque watercolor mixed with lead white. And this was during the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne. Charlemagne attached great importance to the creation of manuscripts, and he assembled a number of great painters who alternated between transparent and opaque watercolors. This mixture continued into the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, when watercolors were commonly used in miniatures. In fact, these were the prototypes of watercolors.

The scope of watercolors extends to the scrolls of the ancient Egyptians, to the exotic miniatures of the Persians, to the illustrations of medieval European biblical codices, to the remains of the cloth mantles of the ancient traditional Gu tombs in the eastern suburb of Luoyang in China, and even earlier to the prehistoric cave paintings of Altamira and Lascauxl, which were painted by the ancient Egyptians in the late Middle Ages. The Cave of Altamira & Lascauxl in prehistoric times. Although many ancient humans used pigments and resins mixed with water as a tool to record their lives and tell the story of their societies and civilizations, with the passage of time and the accumulation of knowledge, through the rise of watercolor painting in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries; especially the efforts of a number of watercolor painters in the United Kingdom to create a fruitful achievement, from then on, watercolor painting gradually approached perfection. By the end of the 19th century, watercolor painting had developed a complete and independent system. In terms of a narrow definition, "watercolor painting" refers to the use of watercolor paints, using water as a diluted medium, to paint on paper. There are two main areas, Transparent Watercolor and Opaque Watercolor (Gouache).

With the advancement of technology and the production of new painting materials, watercolor painting in the 20th century was no longer limited to the two categories of transparent and opaque watercolor. All materials that can be diluted with water for painting. Such as Gesso, acrylic, transparent watercolor liquid, watercolor pencil, are included in the field of watercolor painting.

The origin of watercolor

Watercolor, as its name implies, is the use of water as a medium to mix pigments for painting. Therefore, the scope of watercolor painting can be extended to the scrolls of the ancient Egyptians, the exotic fine paintings of the Persians, the illustrations of the medieval European Bible manuscripts. And the remains of the ancient Chinese tradition of cloth mantles in the remnants of the Gu tombs in the eastern suburbs of Luoyang, and even earlier to the cave paintings of Altamira & Lascauxl in prehistoric times. Although many ancient human beings used pigments, resins and water as a tool to record their lives and tell the story of their societies and civilizations, with the passage of time and the accumulation of knowledge, through the 18th and 19th centuries the rise of watercolor painting in Europe; in particular, the efforts of a number of watercolor painters in the United Kingdom to create a fruitful achievement, and from then on, watercolor paintings are gradually approaching perfection. By the end of the 19th century, watercolor painting had developed a complete and independent system. In a narrow definition, "watercolor painting" refers to the use of watercolor paints, using water as a diluted medium, to paint on paper. There are two main areas, Transparent Watercolor and Opaque Watercolor (Gouache).

With the advancement of technology and the production of new painting materials, watercolor painting in the 20th century was no longer limited to the two categories of Transparent Watercolor and Opaque Watercolor. All materials that can be diluted with water for painting. Such as Gesso, acrylic, transparent watercolor liquid, watercolor pencils, are included in the field of watercolor painting.

(1) The origin of watercolors:

Human beings have been writing and illustrating books for three and a half thousand years.

Initially, people found a fibrous plant called Papyrus along the Nile River in Egypt, and took the skin of its stems, which could be made into scrolls, used to write and draw, and made into scrolls about science, history, witchcraft and religion. Another important use of these scrolls was for burial, accompanying the dead to the other world, where the writing on them helped them explain their life's work to the god of the underworld, Osiris. The portraits on the scrolls, which later became known as miniatures, were painted in transparent colors. Earthy yellows and ochres were taken from clay; reds were taken from minerals of the vermilion type; stone green was blue, stone green was green, earthy yellows were yellow, and wormwood gum was orange; blacks were made from willow charcoal, and whites were made from chalk. All of these colors are tempered with gum arabic with egg white and diluted with water. In short, this is watercolor.

A thousand years later, around 170 BC, King Eumenes II of Pagama pioneered the use of parchment. Taking sheepskin treated with lime, shearing off the wool, and softening it with pumice stone made this new writing material. These skins were stapled into small booklets called codexes, which were then bound together to make a parchment codex that would be handed down to future generations. Since then, manuscripts have been using parchment.

First to the ninth century AD, in Greece, Rome, Syria, and Byzantium, most of the miniatures were painted with an opaque watercolor mixed with lead white. And this was during the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne. Charlemagne attached great importance to the creation of manuscripts, and he assembled a number of great painters who alternated between transparent and opaque watercolors. This mixture continued into the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, when watercolors were commonly used in miniatures. In fact, these were the prototypes of watercolors.

(2) The beginnings of watercolors in continental Europe:

In the 15th century, the German master Albrect Durer (1471~1528), in addition to leaving behind many woodcuts and copperplate masterpieces, he painted many sketches of animals and plants, and fine landscapes rich in poeticism and a sense of perspective with a feeling of appreciation for nature.

Watercolors of the 16th and 17th centuries were painted in the Netherlands, but were mostly monochromatic paintings in brown, or as drafts for oil paintings. Poussin (Nicolas Poussin, 1594~1665), Van Gyne (Anthony Van Gyne, 1594~1665), and Poussin (1594~1665) were the first artists to use watercolor. Poussin (Nicolas Poussin, 1594~1665), Van Gyck (Anthony Van Gyck, 1599~1641) and Rembrandt Van Rym (1606~1669) and other painters, there are watercolors left, which in the later years of Van Gyck's life. Ike lived in England, as a court painter, painted some of the more complete watercolors; Rembrandt Van Rym in ink paintings on the light color of the style of watercolor paintings have advanced a lot of the performance method.

Although watercolors did not originate in England, the rainy, foggy, and sometimes sunny climate created an atmospheric atmosphere. The 18th century in England can be said to be the greenhouse of the watercolor system; especially landscape painting, in the late 18th century, the early 19th century, British watercolor painting has developed into an international painting art. The representative painter of this period, Paul Sandby (1725~1809), with his outstanding talent and diligent perseverance, made a lot of efforts to study the techniques of watercolor expression and the manufacture of pigments. With his in-depth observation of nature, he took the popular watercolor topographical drawings a step further and expressed sunlight and air in colorful poems celebrating nature. He was honored as the "Father of Watercolor Art".

Historical Development of Watercolor

Abroad, the first to paint watercolor landscapes was the German painter Dürer. He often used watercolors to paint landscapes and paintings of animals and plants in the era of learning to paint, and he seriously observed nature, worshipped and marveled at nature's thousands of forms, and many of his works have become models of visual art. His major watercolor works include Landscape, White Rabbit, Great Lawn, and Alpine Landscape. Dürer's sketches of animals and plants pay great attention to localization and detail, so that the artist's charm of expression in animals and plants is fully displayed. His landscapes are likewise very realistic, with mountains arranged and structured with a sense of perspective, and poetic at the same time.

In watercolors before the 18th century, there was also a kind of light work, and the colors were not very rich. At that time, it was still very successful in depicting subtle changes in the atmosphere of the wilderness. The development of color can be seen in watercolor portraits, poetic landscapes, and delicately etched miniatures, which laid the foundation for modern watercolor painting.

By the 18th and 19th centuries, British artists felt that watercolors seemed particularly suited to depicting the natural environment, the interest of life, and the national character of the United Kingdom, watercolors in the United Kingdom has been the rapid development of the flower of art, in the nourishment of the British soil bloomed in full bloom. the 18th and 19th centuries of the United Kingdom has become the birthplace of the modern watercolors.

The historical development of watercolor

Abroad, the earliest watercolor landscape painting is the German painter Dürer. He often used watercolors to paint landscapes and paintings of animals and plants in the era of learning to paint, and he seriously observed nature, worshipped and marveled at the thousands of forms of nature, and many of his works became models of visual art. His major watercolor works include Landscape, White Rabbit, Great Lawn, and Alpine Landscape. Dürer's sketches of animals and plants pay great attention to localization and detail, so that the artist's charm of expression in animals and plants is fully displayed. His landscapes are likewise very realistic, with mountains arranged and structured with a sense of perspective, and poetic at the same time.

In watercolors before the 18th century, there was also a kind of light work, and the colors were not very rich. At that time, it was still very successful in depicting subtle changes in the atmosphere of the wilderness. The development of color can be seen in watercolor portraits, poetic landscapes, and delicately etched miniatures, which laid the foundation for modern watercolor painting.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, British artists felt that watercolors seemed particularly suited to depicting the natural environment, life and national characteristics of the United Kingdom, watercolors in the United Kingdom has been the rapid development of the flower of art, in the nourishment of the British soil bloomed in full bloom. 18th and 19th century Britain became the birthplace of modern watercolor painting.

Where did watercolor landscapes first originate

The origin of watercolor landscapes was initially from "topographical maps of the terrain".

The development of geography and cartography in the 18th century had a positive effect on the formation of watercolors in England. In the mid-19th century, after the rapid development of watercolors, watercolors from the initial topographical map of the terroir gradually developed into an independent painting category, but also established the status of British watercolors in the world of art.

Watercolor landscapes are a very important subject in watercolor painting, and also best represent the painting style of watercolor painting. An important feature of watercolor landscape is that it focuses on sketching, and through the subjective construction of light, color, air, and scenery by the painter, it constitutes a novel and dexterous landscape work with bright colors, fresh tone, and fluent brushwork.

The modern art of watercolor painting can not only show a fresh, transparent, wet, smooth, cheerful effect, but also can achieve a thick, rough, strong pull and other heart-stopping realm. It is good at drawing on the relevant techniques of other paintings and a variety of styles and forms, constantly enriching and developing the art of watercolor painting, retaining and promoting the watercolor painting in the material material, formal language, spiritual meaning of the unique artistic style.