What is interior painting?

Inner painting is a unique traditional craft in China, a kind of folk art with exquisite brushwork and elegant style, and it is the first batch of intangible cultural heritage in China. Today, the process of internalization has been passed down for thousands of years. This issue of folk art takes you to know what internal painting is.

The painting method of internal painting is to draw a detailed picture on the pot blank made of glass/crystal, amber and other materials with a special deformation fine pen, which is elegant in style and delicate in brushwork. Modern interior painting art originated from Beijing School and is divided into five schools: Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Guangdong and Qin. Among them, the inner painting of Hebei School has the largest scale, the fastest development and the greatest influence. Not long ago, it was selected into the national intangible cultural heritage protection list. Hengshui, Hebei Province, the birthplace of internal painting of Hebei Painting School, was also named as "the hometown of internal painting in China" by the Ministry of Culture.

Internal painting, also known as internal painting snuff bottle, is a unique traditional craft in China, and its production can not be separated from the success of refining and eviscerating highly transparent glass. The painting method of internal painting is to draw a detailed picture on the pot blank made of glass, crystal, amber and other materials with a special deformation fine pen, which is elegant in style and delicate in brushwork. The art of internal painting is divided into Beijing, Hebei, Shandong and Guangdong, which is the first batch of intangible cultural heritage in China. On June 7, 2008, the inner paintings were approved to be included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

The appearance of inner painting originated from painting snuff bottles. The custom of smelling snuff has existed in Mongolian and Tibetan areas since the Yuan Dynasty. Since Matteo Ricci, a missionary, brought it to Italy in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty, snuff has been circulated as a gift in China.

During the light years of the Qing Dynasty, the techniques of internal painting appeared in China, and with the development of the times, it gradually formed four schools: Beijing School, Hebei School, Shandong School and Guangdong School.