How has China's meticulous figure painting evolved?

From the existing rock paintings and painted pottery culture in Yinshan, Inner Mongolia, we can clearly see the application track of highly summarized abstract figures and pens, and people have begun to draw and record ancient life with tools similar to brushes. Silk painting in the Warring States period is the earliest figure painting that can be seen at present. As far as painting methods are concerned, Chinese painting outlines with ink lines, and the composition factors with lines as the framework have begun to take shape. Chinese painting is based on national basic philosophy, grasps the laws of "Yin-Yang" and "Qi-Gathering", expresses the rhythm of cosmic change with the simplest line structure, and establishes the aesthetic concept of line modeling.

Appreciation of Zhang Guizhi's meticulous figure painting

The development of figure painting in the Eastern Jin Dynasty became more and more mature. Gu Kaizhi is the representative master. His handed down book "The Book of Sin" and "A Record of Women's History" is a narrative hand scroll with characters as the main body, and it is also the earliest scroll painting with characters as the theme we have seen. Works focus on portraying the characters' demeanor. According to legend, Gu Kaizhi painted a wide range of characters or didn't make the finishing point for several years. People asked him why, and they replied that "four-body beauty" has nothing to do with beauty, but is vivid. His thought of "thinking strangely" set an example for future generations to solve the relationship between form and god. Gu Kaizhi used lines to develop the past from rough and simple to mellow and graceful, stretching as smoothly as "floating clouds behind" and "flowing water on the ground". There are four wonderful methods in ancient times, which are used to collect women's history and women's benevolent wisdom, such as "spring silkworm spinning" and "tight connection, excessive circulation, easy adjustment, and wind tending to electric disease"; Color only seeks to "infect the appearance of the characters, embellish them with rich colors, and not seek algae decoration."

The figure painting in the Tang Dynasty reached its peak, inherited Gu Kaizhi strictly, and merged with the magnificent momentum, which laid the style of meticulous figure painting in the early Tang Dynasty. Yan's Map of Qing Bu records the historical fact that Emperor Taizong met Lu Dongzan, the special envoy of Songzan Gambu, to ask for relatives. Yan is good at describing scenes and psychological activities of characters. The picture is designed to deliberately show important scenes such as weddings and banquets, but it highlights the main body in a focused way and magnifies the psychological description of the main characters. Emperor Taizong was dignified, kind, solemn and serene. Lu Dongzan's face was weathered, wise and capable, and his respect for Emperor Taizong was beyond words. The portrayal of the eyes and expressions of the red messenger and the white follower is also extremely wonderful. The relationship between master and servant is clear at a glance, and the hierarchical structure of props and characters is very appropriate. Yan is also a master of color. The picture is based on black, white, red and green, and is comprehensively summarized; Using the contrast and contrast of colors, the harmonious plot atmosphere and the internal rhythm of the character combination complement each other.

Zhang Xuan created the colorful style of meticulous figure painting. The Picture of Lady Guo You Chun depicts Yang Guifei's third sister, Lady Guo, riding a horse for a spring outing. The female image in the painting is plump, dynamic, soothing and elegant, "receptive, indifferent, sweet and sincere, with soft and delicate skin and well-proportioned bones". This is the shaping feature of the "strange man" in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and it also reflects the aesthetic requirements at that time. The horizontal composition and uneven ups and downs enhance the dynamic of the picture. In order to highlight the main performance object, Mrs. Guo, Natalie created and intentionally focused the attention of Mrs. Guo, male prison, elderly women and children on one point. The tension of the whole work is slender and elastic, and the texture treatment pays attention to the texture of silk, with bright colors and spring.

Wu Daozi, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, was called "Wu Family Style" because of his unique aesthetic interest in line drawing of figures, which influenced the painting style at that time. From Born of Gautama Buddha, it is not difficult to see that his works are full of ups and downs, twists and turns, folds and strokes, and the momentum is vigorous. "Its momentum is round, and its clothes are elegant and vivid", which is known as "the wind in the Five Dynasties". Or like orchid leaves or water shield strips, the line thickness changes with the ups and downs of modeling and line direction, vivid and smooth, with strong sense of rhythm. Jiao Mo is used to cross the line and is called "Wu Zhuang". Slightly pale and painted in ink marks, with rich and elegant colors. In this painting, especially at the end of the picture, God sits in the center, in the center of the orchid leaf drawing line, and the turning point is slightly sideways, like the wind. King suddhodana's baby is outlined by iron line drawing, which is quite powerful and has an obvious turning point. Their temperament and different psychological changes are vivid and full. The hand painted by Wu Daozi "has a beard and flies a few feet." . Hair roots and raw meat are more powerful than others. For more than a thousand years, they have been called "painting saints".

Han Wo is famous for painting pommel horse figures. His works include Night White and herdsman. The painting "Wrangler Map" is concise and trivial in composition, and does not depict the scene and surrounding environment. The picture structure composed of two horses and one person in the work is outstanding and vivid. However, in the description of the details, we can still see Han Wo's good intentions. There are no more colors in the picture, so the painter devotes himself to painting the picture with ink, rendering it layer by layer, which is very particular. Guan Dai's black hat and the dark horse in front of him are rendered thick and transparent, not rigid. The handsome figure of the horse is represented by iron lines, the shape of the characters is bold with contrast lines, and there are fluffy beards and hairs on his arms. In addition, the treatment of the virtual and real characters' clothing patterns highlights the identity and personality of the characters. As an outstanding pommel horse painter, Han Wo pays attention to sketching, often taking horses in stables as "teachers", and his accurate grasp of anatomical structure is unprecedented.

Zhou Fang was a great figure painter in Tang Dynasty, especially good at painting ladies. "The Picture of a Lady with a Flower" depicts the spirit of Gong Yan ladies' leisurely evacuation. Zhou Fang has grasped the "plump, elegant and graceful" physical characteristics of women in Gong Yan. With the grasp of the divine form, the subtle changes of the body curve and the lazy and boring mentality charm of ladies are vividly displayed by the form, which is a typical example of using gods to express the body and visualize modelling technique. Zhou Fang's pen is vigorous and slender, outlined with iron wire, soft and elastic. The color is bright and beautiful, and the description of the texture is very appropriate: the gauze shirt is light and transparent, the skin is plump and white, the face is radiant, the feathers are light, and the headdress is shiny. Zhou Fang has a variety of color setting techniques, often using multi-layer baking dyeing, covering dyeing, combining dyeing and taking color as the line, creating a new style of meticulous figure painting.

Han Xizai's The Night Banquet is one of the five masterpieces. At the behest of his late master, Li Yu, the author sneaked into Han Xizai Mansion and secretly drew the story of Han Xizai's political frustration, no intention of being an official, extravagance and debauchery. Han Xizai's The Night Banquet is a narrative picture, which captures the psychological activities of many people with different identities, ages and personalities in five scenes: listening to songs, watching dances, resting, playing and feasting. Surrounded by a large area of black, the whole painting looks dull and depressing, which seems to make people feel the inner tension hidden under Han Xizai's long-term addiction and insensitive appearance. The composition of the whole picture is paved with curves and separated by screens and chairs, which has the effect of dividing different scenes into separate chapters and connecting them into a whole. Ancient lines and colors are also unique. The lines are neat and delicate, with folds in the straight, bends in the iron and softness in the silk, which are harmonious and consistent. Leng Yan, colorful, reached the extreme, with symmetrical arrangement of colors, dignified and colorful, elegant colors, natural changes and repeated rhythms, is a model of meticulous figure painting after school. The vivid depiction of lamps, candles, musical instruments, curtains, bed chairs, table screens and other props also provides excellent information for historians.

Guan Xiu is good at making arhats. "Luohantu" has the characteristics of portrait painting, the image is extremely exaggerated, eccentric and strange, and the head is mostly shaped with heavy eyebrows, which breaks through the basic model of Buddhist sculpture in Jin and Tang Dynasties. Guan Xiu claimed that the source of the strange image of arhat he painted was "what he saw in his dream". In fact, monks from the western regions were introduced into China at that time, and a large number of Indian Buddhist portraits were introduced, which expanded the imagination of painters. Guan Xiu's grotesque Lohan was highly praised in the Song Dynasty. The book Xuanhe Huapu wrote: "Lohan looks ancient and wild, unique in the world, with wide eyebrows and deep eyes and a big nose; It is still a giant mulberry manuscript. If it is an alien, it will be too shocking. " Guan Xiu's painting skills were influenced by Yan, Wu Daozi, Zhou Fang and Wei Chiyi, and similar painting styles can be seen in the murals of the late Tang Dynasty in Mogao Grottoes. "Luohan Tu" is a basic modeling method based on the modal charm of characters and the internal expression of bone images. The appearance is weird, but the grasp of the internal structure is rigorous and solid. It has a unique achievement in the history of painting, and has a potential influence on Ding, Chen Hongshou, Hai Shang and even modern figure painting in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Eighty-seven Immortals Volume is a masterpiece of Taoist and Buddhist figure painting in Song Dynasty, which is anonymous. The whole picture uses a long scroll composition to express the theme. The scene is grand and full, and the arranged characters are handled in the form of cascading furnishings, and the levels are staggered. It is an obvious feature of the expression method of picture modeling to repeatedly express long and smooth lines with iron line drawing and swimming in Simiao. The skirt that flutters backwards enhances the directionality of the picture and floats smartly in the lingering clouds. From the visual point of view, in order to avoid the single trend of the characters in the works, the painter inserts several rebellious characters in many straight people's combinations to strengthen the connection between the groups of characters. Immortals hand-held fairy bottles, round fans and other utensils are beautifully portrayed, adding a sense of decoration to the picture. From the work Eighty-seven Immortals Volume, we can appreciate the expressive force of line drawing, the combination of interspersed skills and the rhythm of line drawing.

Appreciation of Zhang Guizhi's meticulous figure painting

The mural of Yongle Palace in Ruicheng, Shanxi Province is one of the most outstanding representative works of Taoist and Buddhist murals in Yuan Dynasty. Yongle Palace mural is large in scale and extraordinary in momentum, and consists of four parts: Wuji Gate, Sanqing Hall, Chunyang Gate and Chongyang Hall, among which Sanqing Hall mural Yuan Chao Tu is the most spectacular. There are 286 people in the whole figure, and the eight main statues painted are crowned emperors. Beside each main image, all kinds of gods are displayed around the main image, arranged in three or four layers. In the majestic ranks of the Yuan Dynasty, painters deeply portrayed the characteristics of each character and highlighted the personality charm of the character. The main statue is solemn, the warrior is mighty and vigorous, and the jade girl Wen Ya is charming and touching. In order to grasp the characters in the big scene, painters skillfully adopt interactive and meditation techniques, and use the characters in the picture to listen, look around, turn around and talk, so that the whole painting can be integrated. The murals are neat in brushwork, neat in lines, colorful and rich in decorative interest. In order to highlight sleeves, tassels, flower buds, etc., the painting is full of thick color lines, and the method of stacking gold powder is often used to increase the volume thickness and texture, making the picture rich and noble. Yongle Palace murals not only continue the traditional techniques of Tang and Song murals, but also open up new ways of Ming and Qing murals.

At the end of Ming Dynasty, Zeng Whale made a breakthrough contribution in the field of figure painting. His portraits, such as Zhang, Wang Shimin and Ge Zhanfu, are all concrete and realistic portraits, emphasizing the facial structure and concave-convex features of the characters. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Italian missionaries came to China to preach, which brought the realistic painting style of the Virgin Mary and Jesus in sharp contrast with the traditional portrait of China, which was mainly line drawing and slightly rendered, and stimulated the aesthetic needs of painters such as Zeng Whale. The portraits made by Zeng Whale reveal the requirements of integrating western modeling elements into traditional painting techniques to form a new style. The portrait of Zeng whale pays attention to ink bones, and is rendered layer by layer according to the inherent nature of the facial structure of the characters. Do not emphasize the line factor, three-dimensionally depict the five senses, and portray the expressions of the characters in the ups and downs. Shen Zongqian put forward in Painting on a Mustard Boat: "You must play with the previous masters such as Zeng Pai carefully, and then temporarily take the pen away from the surface, sketch and wipe it, and use it properly. It is light and heavy, and it is done just right. " Zeng Whale's figure painting method, also known as "Bo School", created a new pattern of figure painting, which has always influenced the Qing Dynasty.

The most creative figure painter in Ming Dynasty should be Chen Hongshou. He devoted himself to studying the styles of various schools since Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, with long and thin lines and strong turning points, and his modeling was dominated by natural forms. In his later years, the pen turned vigorous, the lines emphasized the stone flavor, and the colors were heavy and light. The figure's clothing lines are round and delicate, and he "lets" the wide robe sleeves stretch gracefully after the figure's waist tag is closed, and the use of highly decorative lines in turn enhances the rhythm of this modeling language. The characters are exaggerated and deformed, and their personalities are distinct, and their expressions are implicit in the grotesque.

Ren Bonian is the best among many marine painters. The Fairy's Birthday is the representative work of Ren Bonian's figure painting. This is a huge 12 clay sculpture of Tong Jingping. * * * depicts 46 immortal figures * * * going to the Queen Mother's birthday party. Ren Bonian's imagination is extraordinary in order to create a picture atmosphere and show the celestial world where immortals celebrate their birthdays. He arranged all kinds of immortals to go to dinner by land, air and sea, and the scene was grand. The painter divided the characters into five pieces, and each group of characters took care of each other, which was dense and patchy. The composition is unfolded in an overlapping way, lively and smart, with trees, flowers, birds, rocks, buildings, seawater and clouds interspersed among them, and the picture appears rich and unified. The colors of Ren Bonian are bright and vivid, and the heavy colors of cinnabar, azurite and turquoise are lightly dyed on the clay painting ground, and the whole picture is resplendent and magnificent.

After the Opium War, Shanghai was influenced by western culture, and the painting style of western churches was more or less branded with Tong Jingping's Celebrating the Fairy's Birthday, and the coloring method was influenced by watercolor painting. It is precisely because of the unremitting efforts of a group of forward-looking painters like Ren Bonian that the solid foundation for the development of modern meticulous painting in China has been laid.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, figure painting declined, so did meticulous figure painting. The impact of the "May 4th New Culture" wave did not seem to improve Chinese painting. The younger generation represented by Xu Beihong went abroad to seek a new way out for the development of figure painting in China.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xu Beihong advocated the integration of sketch into the teaching system of figure painting in China, which had a far-reaching impact on the painting circles in China. The literary guiding ideology of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and bringing forth the new" has injected new blood into the painter. Meticulous figure painting has experienced a revival and prosperity after a long period of impact. It draws wisdom from tradition, collects materials from real life and draws nutrients from the essence of foreign painting. In particular, the application of modern teaching concepts in the teaching practice of Chinese painting has cultivated a large number of aspiring young painters for the revitalization of figure painting in China and made indelible new contributions to the prosperity and development of meticulous figure painting in China.