The Comparison Between Chinese and Western Painting

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similar to Western Paintings, it has a finer tip suitable for dealing with a wide range of subjects and for producing the variations in line required by different styles. Chinese painting’s ink has over used over two thousand years. Painters use ink to control the dense or pale (slab with fresh water). Thick ink is quite dense and deep when painters use it in the Painting. Thin ink mix with fresh water may feel pale. Painter use the different types ink to control the brightness and lightness to balanced the painting. In addition, the Xuan paper was made in 100 AD, which is also called rice paper in Western Countries. Xuan paper is different with modern paper. Xuan paper is quite absorbent and the among size in it will dictate the quantity of ink used for strokes on the paper, which could absorb ink very quickly.

The Western paintings is painting in fastener vegetable oil such as linseed oil, poppy oil, walnut oil. Etc, as the pigment, and painting on the cardboard or board. When the painting become dry, which could tarnishproof the oil for a long time. The colorful oil could make the painting very fine and smooth.

The Techniques of Chinese paintings and Western paintings

The key technique expression method for traditional Chinese painting is use stroke and line to represent the painters’ idea. Stokes and lines are energetic, which most Chinese painters use them to express their particularly objectives. In this kind of technique expression method, Chinese painting is combine all the nature elements and objective to balance the composition.

There are “host” and “guests ” in Chinese composition. The host shows painters’ idea, but the guests could balance the whole painting. However, the role of “guests” is also important for whole painting. For example, the “host” is a plum flower, but the plum tree is also plays a significant role for the painting. In addition to this fact, the “host” may as a mountain, the tree, small house, people and lake may as the “guests”. In figure 1, the painter use plum flowers to be the host and use the plum tree as the guest.

The expression of western painting is to create the realistic scene. Thus, the painters would objectively depict the color, appearance, shade and light to make the audience engage the painting’s environment. According to the book “Practical Guide to Painting”, Ballestar believes that the western paintings emphasize details very well (Ballestar, 2002).

Compare the use of color between Chinese painting and Western paintings

In traditional Chinese painting, the use of color are mainly white and black. From what above we discussed that Chinese painting is not focus on the details, which is always use simplify method to dram a complex objectives. Most traditional Chinese painters only use brush, ink and water to show the general overview of the nature and landscape. Although the ink use in Chinese painting is only black and shade, if mix some water with ink and use xuan paper combine with the brush, which could also have some “colorful” visual effects. To be more precious, the simple color used in traditional Chinese painting could make audience pay more attention on the paintings meaning and painter’s feeling. In Chinese painting, mixing dense and pale also plays an unique role. The color should mixing dense and pale just like the Western Paintings the warm color and the cold color should be matched. The dense and pale color make them together may lead viewer feel “more” in the paintings. For example, the figure 1 shows that the use of color in Chinese painting is quite single, which mix the dense and pale, there are lots of white area available in the painting.

Compare with the western oil painting, the use of color is quite beautiful in landscape painting. Painters may use different colors to paint their objective detailly. Most western paintings are related with religion, colorful paintings makes their feeling quite fantasy. Thus, the painting of western painters is quite colorful and active, which made western oil painting have a strong visual impact. The use of Color is figure 2 is quite colorful which presented details and makes viewer engage the painting quickly.

The perspective of Chinese painting and Western paintings

The painters from China usually use flattened perspective and linear perspective. Thus, when a audience view a landscape painting, people may feel confused if viewer without any introduce. The white space and area , which the lack perspective could make audience have lots of imagine space and motivate audience to think about it. Most audience has their own perspective and opinion to Chinese arts. The perspective of Chinese painting is quite different with the scientific view of the western painting. The Western concept of the perspective is an idealistic or suprarealistic approach, which is more detailly that people can acquire the information more in this kind of approach.

The perspective in Western paintings are quite different with Chinese paintings in landscape paintings. To be more precious, the painters under the Western culture background may try to create a real world or what the painters saw, as the result, a diversity of perspectives and expression techniques are applied. William Robinson who believes that the Multiview point could help painters and viewers to create a photographic environment.

The similarities of Chinese and western paintings

There are also some similar points available between the traditional Chinese painting and Western Paintings. The Chinese painting and Western Paintings are all represent the diversity of life and they put their view and story in the painting. Additionally, the paintings are describe the life moment and visual diversion arts. The different color and no matter the lines are strong or light they all reflected what they saw. The objective of the painting usually as the nature scene such as forests, lake, mountain, trees, flowers and buildings.

Figure 1 Chinese painting of flowers, plum blossom

Figure 1 shows that the painter use black and white, line and strokes to paint the plum flowers.

Figure 2 Friends of the Shoshoni Shoshone Western Art by Steve Devenyns

Figure 2 illustrates that the painter use different color and sizes to make the forest, lake and grass to make viewer for realistic, who also use the light and shade in the painting which make audience engage the painting quickly.

Conclusion

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