In the Ming Dynasty, with the development of economy, folk collections flourished, specialized folk collectors appeared, and a large number of calligraphy and painting collections and notes appeared. In his He Qing Shuhua Fang, Zhang Chou described the "learning of discrimination" in depth: "Appreciating two ideas is different in essence", and pointed out various methods of discrimination. He thinks that we should first look at the spiritual temperament, and then look at the records of the royal collection and the inscriptions of unknown people; Buy paper paintings, not silk paintings, because "paper lives for a thousand years". Wait a minute.
In modern times, calligraphy and painting appraisal has gradually become a specialized knowledge. In the 1920s, there was a museum for the public. Many scholars participate in the study of art history and calligraphy and painting; Since then, a large number of professional and systematic works on calligraphy and painting appraisal have appeared, such as How to Appraise Calligraphy and Painting, Introduction to Calligraphy and Painting Appraisal by Wang Yikun, Miscellaneous Notes by Xie, Introduction to Calligraphy and Painting Appraisal, etc.
Since 1950s, with more and more ancient paintings from China flowing into the west, western scholars have also taken a keen interest in China's paintings and calligraphy. They began to apply western methods to the study of China's paintings and China's calligraphy and painting, and made great contributions. There are several representative figures in calligraphy and painting appraisal, such as Wen Fong, Gao Juhan and others.
After liberation, the state attached great importance to the cause of cultural relics. Due to the increasing collection of paintings and calligraphy in the museum, the appraisal team was organized to conduct appraisal work in various places at that time, which was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution. 1983, the Ministry of Culture established the China Ancient Painting and Calligraphy Appraisal Group to conduct a comprehensive and systematic investigation and appraisal of the existing ancient paintings in the country, and compiled catalogues, picture books and large picture books.
With the acceleration of the whole social modernization process, relatively speaking, the ancient art of painting and calligraphy, as well as the identification of painting and calligraphy, has been getting farther and farther away from people's daily life. On the one hand, the progress of society brings a lot of convenience to the appraisal of calligraphy and painting; At the same time, the changes in social situation and cultural environment make people engaged in the collection and appraisal of calligraphy and painting need more "determination" and make more efforts.
Generally speaking, engaged in calligraphy and painting appraisal should pay attention to the following issues:
First of all, we should be familiar with the history and origin schools of China art, so that we can know the specific painters and works from the big coordinates.
It is necessary to have a systematic understanding of the styles and characteristics of the works (which can be regarded as original works) of painters and painters of past dynasties. This is the yardstick to verify other works of the same painter.
The description and annotation of ancient paintings and calligraphy, biographies of people, the artist's chronicle and other related literature and history knowledge can help us to identify ancient paintings and calligraphy works more accurately. Some common behaviors are recorded in Shuo Shu, such as: Wu often forges Zhu Yunming's calligraphy; Zhu Lang is a student in Wen Zhiming, that is, making fake characters in Wen Zhiming as a profession; As for Wang Shigu, he often worries about Wang Ti's creation of his fake paintings. Wait a minute.
If you have a deep understanding of the method and process of painting and calligraphy creation, it will undoubtedly be of great benefit to the appraisal of painting and calligraphy. Many collectors in the past dynasties were painters and calligraphers themselves, such as modern, Zhang Daqian, Xie, and so on.
The most important thing is practice, accumulating experience from a large number of appraisal practices. The late appraiser Liu Jiuan is such a master who grew up from practice. After a long period of observation, comparison, analysis and research, the recognition threshold can be gradually obtained.