Painted pottery painting

With the progress of technology and the gradual enhancement of human aesthetic consciousness, people in the Neolithic age gradually began to decorate pottery deliberately, so there was painted pottery, and painting was a crucial link in making painted pottery. Neolithic ancestors painted naive, simple and elegant decorative patterns on the prepared pottery blank with color pigments, making extremely ordinary pottery a precious prehistoric art in the skillful hands of potters. The earliest painted pottery in China originated from Dadiwan culture, and its color is dark red. After that, Yangshao culture and Majiayao culture were mainly black with a little white; During the Mid-levels and Machang periods, a large number of brown composite colors also appeared. During the excavation of some sites, some mineral pigments were unearthed. After years of comprehensive research and advanced scientific and technological means, the academic circles have comprehensively studied the mineral composition and colorants of various pigments, revealing the principle why painted pottery is gorgeous.

Painted pottery is painted first and then fired. Therefore, the color of the selected minerals must be resistant to high temperature, and the color will not decompose at high temperature, and the original color can still be maintained. As early as tens of thousands of years ago, humans have discovered and begun to use the rewards of nature: Neanderthals sprinkled red hematite powder on the dead and dyed various decorations with mineral powder; In the second phase of Dadiwan, a layer of red hematite powder was found scattered on the living surface at that time. It can be seen that human beings have known and used mineral pigments for tens of thousands of years, and red has long been regarded as an auspicious and beautiful color.

Red: Red samples are taken from Dadiwan Phase I pottery pots and Guanghe Baping semi-grade pottery pots. After inspection and determination, the color-developing element is iron and the color-developing phase is iron oxide. The unearthed mineral pigment is ochre, which is the weathering product of hematite, and its main component is iron oxide. In some places, red clay with high iron content is used as red pigment. Hematite is common in nature and easy to obtain, so red has become the main choice for people's early painting. They use red to express their passion, and they also use red to symbolize their hope for happiness.

Black: It is the most common color in painted pottery in Gansu. According to the sample analysis of Yangshao culture, Majiayao culture, Huoshaogou culture and Xindian culture, the results show that the obvious color elements are iron and manganese, and the hue is ferroferric oxide. Its minerals are mainly magnetite and hausmannite. Dr. Ma Qing Lin also discovered zinc-iron spinel for the first time in the black of Majiayao culture. These minerals are all spinel minerals, among which zinc-iron spinel and hausmannite are darker after firing, while magnetite is bluer, which is the reason why Majiayao culture is dark and shiny. Gansu Provincial Museum and Linxia State Museum have done some experiments. If painted pottery is colored with pure manganese ore pigment, all manganese elements will decompose at high temperature. If manganese-containing hematite is used, painted pottery will only appear red after being fired under mild dilution conditions; In the thicker case, it is dark brown. This series of experiments shows that prehistoric potters have realized that manganese-containing hematite, that is, the mixed mineral pigment of hematite and magnetite, has two different color rendering properties, and skillfully mastered the changing law of shade, thus meeting the needs of color painting.

Brown: In some painted pottery of mid-levels and racecourse types, there are brown patterns that are neither red nor black. Mr. Li Wenjie thinks that the chemical composition of brown is the same as that of black, but the content of manganese is lower than that of black, and the content of iron is higher than that of black, probably because red clay is mixed in the pigment. Dr Ma Qing Lin has a new understanding of this. Through experimental analysis, he thinks that the composite pigment of black and red pigment has been used at this time. After color matching, the color tone has changed, and the color levels of painted pottery are therefore richer.

White: From the middle period of Yangshao, individual white appeared, and it increased in Majiayao type. According to X-ray diffraction analysis, the white unearthed in the third phase of Dadiwan is pure seasonal powder. Majiayao is white, and its main component is gypsum or calcite.

Mineral pigments must be processed before they can be used First, the pigment minerals are crushed, and then they need to be ground into fine powder. The finer the pigment, the better the adhesion. The ground fine powder is mixed with water to form pigment slurry or mixed pigment. Among the cultural relics unearthed in Gansu, pigments and their processors are often unearthed because of the development of painted pottery. The ancestors of Dadiwan used to crush pigment minerals with stone axes, so the unearthed stone axes were often stained with pigments. Hundreds of grindstones and millstones unearthed are undoubtedly a set of tools for grinding pigments. Grinding stones are round, conical and oval, all of which have smooth grinding surfaces; There are various shapes of millstones, but all of them have a sunken grinding pit. Some grinding discs are very delicate, and the grinding surface is black and bright, showing a regular circle. Two tools unearthed from the kiln site of Baidaogouping site in Lanzhou, one is a stone millstone, and the other is a high-edge Tao Pan, which is bright purple and should be a palette. After the pigment is mixed, the last process is painting.

It is difficult to determine what kind of tools are used for painting because there is no physical object unearthed. However, according to the observation of painted pottery in Gansu, it is not difficult to find that many painted pottery patterns have inadvertently left sharp brushstrokes. Presumably, they are drawn with tools similar to brushes, not only hard "pens" made of bristles, but also soft "pens" made of soft hairs. Otherwise, the fine grid pattern and sawtooth pattern in the Mid-levels and racecourses will not be completed. It can be seen from the slender and smooth lines that the "pen" painted at that time was probably a long-edged hard pen made of hair such as wolves and deer, which had good cohesion. paint

Among the traditional arts in China, painted pottery is the earliest original artwork that perfectly combines patterns with object modeling. When drawing painted pottery, our ancestors paid great attention to the relationship between patterns, shapes and perspectives, and noticed the visual effects of patterns from different perspectives. What they designed is that no matter from which angle, no matter from the front or from the top, they can see the perfect picture, and strive to achieve harmony in the composition of patterns and shapes. According to the different shapes of the device, determine and design decorative parts and patterns. Because there was no console table in prehistoric society, many items were placed on the ground or on a small earthen platform, which was completely different from modern places. In addition, prehistoric ancestors sat on the floor, and their natural perspectives were obviously different. Therefore, the focus of painting is mostly on the abdomen and the following parts of the appliance. For example, the pots and pans of Yangshao culture and so on. The line of sight is limited to the mouth and abdomen, so only the part within the line of sight is drawn; Majiayao-style pot has a big mouth and a shallow belly, and the inner wall is clearer when looking down, so the indoor color is the main color, supplemented by simple outdoor color; The bottle-shaped utensils of Yangshao culture and Majiayao culture are slender in shape, flat in abdomen and small in size, so they can be seen at a glance as a whole, so most of them are drawn from the mouth edge to the lower abdomen. The middle urn and the big belly are painted in the middle because the lower abdomen is basically blocked when placed on the ground.

It is impossible for a craftsman to paint colors at will. According to the shape of the object, the pattern and internal color of the mouth edge, neck and abdomen should be designed and conceived in advance. After the position of the pattern is determined, the painting part of the object is divided and fixed as needed, and then painting is carried out. When painting, draw the theme pattern first, and then supplement the auxiliary ornamentation that is coordinated and complementary with the theme. According to the observation and study of painted pottery patterns, it is speculated that the specific painting process is as follows: (1) equal division or separation.

Painted pottery, except for a few round objects, is basically a horizontal painting belt composed of multiple groups of decorative patterns, and a few vertical paintings. Therefore, we should first divide or divide the painted parts as reasonably as possible, and then draw decorative patterns in groups. Due to the different shapes and equal division methods of vessels, vertical vessels are mostly divided into painted parts from top to bottom with horizontal parallel lines; Horizontal width utensils are divided into equal parts from left to right with vertical parallel lines. Painted patterns are divided into two parts, three parts, four parts and many parts, all of which depend on the theme pattern. Some patterns are simple and easy to divide, such as fish pattern basin, which divides the circumference into two parts horizontally to draw two groups of fish with the same pattern; Petal pattern painted pottery basin is to divide the abdomen of the utensil into two parts horizontally with vertical lines, then divide it into four parts and eight parts, and finally draw eight groups of petal pattern. There are also painted parts of some utensils separated by odd numbers, such as the painted urn named "Painted Pottery King" unearthed in Sanping, Yongjing. The painted part is divided into three parts with parallel lines, and then painted in different parts. The bisector or dividing line can be used not only as the dividing line of different parts and patterns, but also as the decorative border. The patterns of Mid-mountain type and Racecourse type are dense and complex, and the division or separation is extremely fine. For example, the mid-level continuous double-arc painted pottery urn in Baping, Guanghe needs to divide the circumference into 1 1, which shows that the work at that time was very difficult. Therefore, there may have been a tool for equal division at that time, otherwise, it would be difficult for 1 1 group arcs to be equally divided so accurately. For objects with ears, these accessories are the most convenient and ready-made parts.

(2) Positioning

After the late Yangshao culture, a large number of continuous patterns appeared on painted pottery, which were extremely complete and inseparable. Obviously, the method of equal division cannot meet the needs of the development of painted pottery. According to the characteristics of this kind of pattern, we should first plan the overall layout, determine its positioning point or positioning circle, and divide the painting part. For example, the pointed-bottomed bottle collected by Lv Jiaping in Longxi needs three vortex-shaped center rings. The point is the anchor point, and then the arc is struck around with this point as the center to form a continuous vortex pattern. The painted pottery of Mid-levels and Machang types mostly takes circles as the theme pattern, so circles replace dots and evolve into circular positioning. For example, in the painting of Mid-levels, a few big circles and gourd patterns are drawn first, and then other patterns, such as sawtooth patterns, are drawn to supplement the surrounding areas. The same is true of painted pottery in Machang. First, draw the outlines of four circles, and then fill in the grid patterns in the circles and the exquisite decorative patterns around them.

(3) For the first time, from complex to simple.

Painted pottery patterns can generally be divided into theme patterns and non-theme patterns. The theme ornamentation is painted in the most eye-catching position of the objects, and other ornamentation is used as a foil to fill the gap, or to decorate the mouth, neck and lower abdomen, which plays an auxiliary decorative role. When painting, we should grasp the important position, draw the theme pattern in the important position first, and then draw the attached decorative pattern in the corner, so as to achieve the overall perfect and harmonious effect. The painted pottery urn unearthed in Sanping, Yongjing is divided into three grids and consists of three parts of patterns. The middle abdomen is the largest, and the theme pattern is located in the middle. You need to draw a whirlpool pattern as the theme first, then draw small concentric circles in the surrounding space, and finally complete other decorations on the upper and lower abdomen. Intermediate painted pottery patterns are dense and exquisite, and painting is difficult. However, through careful observation and analysis, it is not difficult to see that the overall pattern is dominated by red, and the red line also plays the role of equal division and positioning. Black sawtooth patterns or strips alternate between red lines and black and red, forming a perfect picture. So it seems that the drawing procedure of intermediate type painting should be to draw the red main pattern first, and then draw the black pattern. In a word, drawing the theme pattern and backbone lines first can control the whole picture and make the layout more reasonable and beautiful.

(4) Check the outline first, and then fill it out.

Since the late Yangshao culture, there have been many grid patterns, the outer contours of which are round, oval, gourd-shaped, triangular and round, and the grids filled in the contours are becoming more and more dense. For the analysis of this kind of artifacts, it is necessary to draw an outline first, and then fill in the outline with decorations such as grid lines and diamond squares. For example, the painted pottery bottle with the pattern of the giant fish should first outline the body of the giant fish, and then draw the grid lines and limbs in the body. In an intermediate painted pottery pot with gourd patterns, it is obvious that the outline of the gourd should be drawn first, then the fine grid patterns in the gourd should be filled, and finally the surrounding space should be supplemented and improved with other line patterns. Horse factory-style single-ear cup needs to draw a back-shaped stripe pattern first, and then draw a fine grid pattern between the stripes. There are five criss-crossing longitude and latitude lines between the stripes of about 1 cm2, which shows the superb skills of the painter at that time. Otherwise, the lines will be different in thickness, uneven in density, or bent to overlap and so on. It can be seen that the proficiency of painting skills directly affects the quality and beauty of painted pottery.

No matter what shape, pattern, cultural type, no matter what, we always follow certain principles and procedures, that is, from top to bottom, from point to surface, from subject to other, from overall layout to local structure. These laws set a precedent for the general laws of painting art in later generations. In the heyday of painted pottery in Gansu, the patterns were still complicated and orderly, and the fundamental reason was the basic law of the above painting.

Painted pottery is painted when the pottery blank is not completely dry. After the car body is painted, it should be polished repeatedly with tools such as pebbles, which can make the surface texture dense and smooth. The coated pigment will also be embedded in the surface of the device by rolling, and become an organic part of the device surface, firmly attached to the blank, and will not fall off. After firing, the surface of the device is bright and beautiful. Mid-level painted pottery watches are the most finely polished, and the patterns are bright and eye-catching, reaching the extreme. Painted pottery pot in the mid-level of Moujiaping, Lanzhou, has a dent caused by longitudinal rolling of a round stick at the junction of neck and shoulder. According to Mr. Li Wenjie's experiment, the inner color can be rolled with a hard and smooth ball, and the outer color can be rolled with a hard and smooth round stick. When rolling, the direction of attention is basically perpendicular to the rice, so that the pigment will not shift and the pattern will remain unchanged. 3. Pottery clothes

Before painting, it is a common practice in various painted pottery cultures after the middle period of Yangshao to coat the pottery blank with a layer of painted pottery clothes. After being painted with pottery, the watch looks like a layer of gorgeous colored clothes, and then painted with other colors. If black is painted on the red pottery, the color contrast is strong and steady, and it is even more dazzling. Even if some pottery is no longer painted with pottery clothes, such as the fourth-phase pottery ding in Dadiwan, it still looks gorgeous and dazzling with purple sand pottery clothes. Generally, the raw materials of pottery clothes are carefully washed fine mud, and sometimes other pigments are added. When applying pottery clothes, brush the surface of the appliance with mud or soak the appliance in the mud. The types of horse factories, as well as the culture of Huoshaogou, Xindian and Shajing, are all popular with red pottery clothes. Yangshao and Majiayao cultures have a small amount of white pottery clothes. After identification, the raw material of red pottery coat is red clay with high iron content, and white pottery coat is mostly chalk soil. Painted pottery refers to pottery with painted patterns after firing. The colored pigments in this kind of pottery are added with colloid, which makes colored substances adhere to the surface, but they still fall off easily. A piece of white painted pottery was found in Dadiwan Phase I. There are white painted pottery on the inner wall of the cylinder, and the pigment texture is rough, which is obviously higher than the cylinder surface. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the pigment is calcite, and the components are calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide. The "ginger stone" that can be seen everywhere in the local area has a high content of calcite. It is estimated that the "ginger stone" is cooked and ground into white pigment.

There are many painted pottery unearthed in the fourth phase of Dadiwan. One is red painted pottery painted on gypsum pottery, and the pattern is not clear because of the shedding of colored substances; The other is a white painting painted on a clay bottle and clay pot, which is not as serious as a red painting. The red material is identified as cinnabar, and the white material is mainly composed of calcite and a small amount of gypsum. At this time, the composition of white pigment is basically the same as that of the first phase, but the texture is fine and the adhesion to pottery is stronger than that of the first phase. The process has obviously come in, which may be due to the use of better colloidal materials.