Social stability, national prosperity, people's living standards improve, and they are eager to improve the quality of spiritual life, so there will be more and more general demand for artistic works. Some artists will attach themselves to the upper class, which will make their living space very superior, and their status and value may also change greatly. There are many court painters and calligraphers in China, all of whom have solid artistic skills. But after entering the court, their works did not have their own personality. The "Four Heavenly Kings" in Qing Dynasty were all among them, and their works blindly imitated the ancients. Because they enjoy the royal favor in life, they just act according to the emperor's glances in art, and one by one they become tame tools in the court, which is also caused by the living environment. Off-site artists are different. They are free to express their pride and arrogance under any circumstances, such as "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" and Shi Tao. If an artist lives in two different times, the brand left by the social environment will still be reflected in his works of art. The Badashan people who experienced the Ming and Qing Dynasties are obsessed with their own Ming Dynasty, so his works naturally reveal the artist's cynicism. With the different times and social environment, the status and value of artists will have their own unique embodiment.
Art and politics must be related. The political environment here mainly refers to political status. Since ancient times, people have clearly recognized the role of political status, which is also the reason why human beings strive for power and profit and pursue "fame and fortune", because "power" is closely related to "profit" and "fame and fortune". Because a person has political status, other things will be easier to get. And "from the perspective of state power, it is necessary to formulate policies on culture (including art) to regulate social and cultural (including art) activities, which is true in all countries. Different state regimes may adopt very different policies on the management of culture under different historical conditions. These policies can be very democratic and tolerant, or very authoritarian and strict. " [1] You probably remember Dong's oil painting founding ceremony, right? The characters in the works are repeatedly modified, added or deleted with the change of political power and political needs.
Generally, famous painters and painters in ancient times were attached to senior officials or had official career experience. One of the reasons is that they occupy an important political position. In modern vocabulary, it is called "taking the upper line", that is, they have political capital (or relying on trees). For example, Zhang Zeduan, the author of the famous genre painting "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival", once worked in the Hanlin Painting Academy during the Hui Zong period; Wang Wei, a famous poet and painter in the Tang Dynasty, was a senior official and was often visited by princes and nobles. Su Shi, Huang, Mi and Cai in Song Sijia all held important positions, among which Su Shi, a famous painter and writer, was a member of the imperial clan. Huang Tingjian, a famous poet and calligrapher, was once a professor of imperial academy. Mi Fei, a painter and calligrapher, was called Mi Nangong. When Hui Zong was elected, he was called Doctor of Painting and Calligraphy, Yuan Wailang, and the official to the Ministry of Rites; Calligrapher Cai Xiang, Bachelor of Duanming Temple; Wu Daozi, a painter in the Tang Dynasty, was once a doctor of internal medicine.
Among the famous "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" in the history of China's calligraphy and painting, Li, Shan Li and Li all worked as the magistrate of Yangzhou. The styles of these three painters are also different, so the world calls these three monsters respectively: "a rare confused school"-Zheng Banqiao; "Romance"-Li Shan; "Laugh and curse, stand out from the crowd"-Li. In the prime of life, people are often full of blood, and it is easy to show frivolous behavior inadvertently. Especially when his studies and official career were smooth sailing, he even got carried away and even made rude remarks. Li's self-reliance on "smiling proudly" is his proud sentence in his career. What will happen? I can only hit a wall everywhere, flustered and disheartened, and paid a heavy price. Of course, setbacks sometimes turn into good things, and adversity makes talents. "Without some hardships, plum blossoms come naturally." The plum blossoms painted by Li are therefore hard and stubborn.
Looking at western artists again, three outstanding artists in the Italian Renaissance are representative. Michelangelo's The Last Judgment is for Pope III, The Conversion of Sao Paulo and The Passion of St Peter are for Sao Paulo III, and The Battle of cassina is for the Parliament Hall in Florence. He also painted a large number of murals for the Vatican in Rome on the orders of the Pope. Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper and The Virgin and Saint Anne are both famous works for the church of Santa Maria in Milan. Raphael is highly valued by the Pope. He once served as the architectural director of St. Peter's Cathedral, and the Pope also appointed him as the director to be responsible for the excavation of Roman cultural relics. Therefore, he has been working for Julius II and Leon X, and he painted a series of murals in the Vatican Palace according to the wishes of the Pope. Holbein hans's protector was King Henry VIII of England, who painted portraits of the king and his cronies. All these show that the political environment has a great influence on the status and artistic value of artists. Artists with superior political environment have more opportunities for high status and more artistic value. The economic base determines the superstructure, and the superstructure relies on the economic base as a guarantee. Artists must also rely on a good economic foundation in order to have the strength to devote themselves to artistic creation and have more enthusiasm to create high-quality works of art, which complement each other. Works of art are spiritual products produced by artists. Spirit becomes matter, and matter becomes spirit. Spirit and matter are inseparable. Without a basic material foundation, it is impossible to produce spiritual products. As the saying goes, "a clever woman can't cook without rice." Imagine if an artist is financially strapped, has no support for his life, even the most basic living conditions, or has no food and clothing, how can he afford painting materials? There will be no such leisure to talk about artistic creation. Van Gogh, the author of the world famous paintings's Sunflower, a Dutch painter, was obsessed with the spirit of persistent pursuit of art, but in the end, because the works of art could not be turned into wealth, he was poor all his life and had to commit suicide.
Many artists in China have experienced ups and downs, but they still attached their feelings to the art of painting and calligraphy. Most of the painters and calligraphers in Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics were not engaged in art from the beginning. Their pursuit of life is the same as that of previous scholars in China. They study to be an official, and some of them have indeed embarked on the road of being an official. Why do they all embark on the road of painting and calligraphy art and become geeks in the art world? At this point, they are different from other scholars. Some literati are frustrated by the failure of their official career, and feel down and out because of the trauma in their hearts, and their spirits are in a slump, leaving a sense of frustration that they are helpless and very nostalgic for the world of mortals. Some people become ordinary people or mediocre people, and some even become monks and Taoists, caught in the whirlpool of painful contradictions. However, the Eight Monsters are different. They found a breakthrough, namely calligraphy and painting. The reason why they can change from ordinary gifted scholars to wizards lies in their adaptability. They do something unconventional in the art world, vent their personalities, set up their own flags, and realize their self-pursuit of life values that they can't achieve in the examination room and officialdom, just like others. Shi Naian's desperate heroes were forced to rebel one after another. In fact, most of the eight eccentrics in Kanggan were forced to the art world one by one. It is a miracle and a necessity that you have dominated the art world for hundreds of years. "[2] Shan Li, one of the eight eccentrics, is a typical example of a successful teenager. Elected at the age of 26, he entered the center of the imperial city at the age of 29 and entered and exited the imperial court. But he is not good at "dealing with the world" and doesn't understand the "mystery" of his official career, which leads to his "two letters and one drop".
Whether these people are frustrated in their official career or continue to be officials, their artistic creation of calligraphy and painting still has a solid economic foundation, and they will never be as ordinary and difficult as ordinary people's lives. A good economic foundation will certainly bring better conditions for artistic creation, and the status and value of artists can also be fully reflected. There are also some indomitable artists. No matter how the living environment and economic conditions change or are difficult, they still cling to the brush, and their original intention remains unchanged, and they resolutely trudge on the road of art. Isn't Mr. Wu Guanzhong, a famous artist in China, "secretly" hiding painting tools (paper blackboards used in rural areas) in farmers' grass baskets and insisting on sketching? Although it was not recognized by people at that time, history will eventually give them the most fair evaluation (including their art), such as Van Gogh and his works of art, which can meet people's spiritual and cultural needs. They educate people's thoughts and feelings in a subtle and interesting way. What Mr. Cai Yuanpei advocates: "saving the country through aesthetic education" is no joke! Purifying and enriching the spiritual world of the rich greatly enhances people's spiritual strength. The greater the actual promotion, enthusiasm and advancement of artists to social development, the greater the contribution to human spiritual and cultural activities, and the higher the existence value of artists. On the other hand, those negative and decadent things that hinder social development and make little contribution to society or mankind have low or no value at all.
Social phenomena in every era will face various changes, including social contradictions, religious beliefs, philosophical thoughts, political systems, economic development and so on. The life style of people in different times will change with the change of life situation, and at the same time, it will change people's thoughts, emotions, wishes and ideals, thus forming the aesthetic ideal and spiritual and cultural needs of each era. Artists are no exception. They used various materials and methods to create works of art with aesthetic value and other social functions, and recorded people's thoughts, feelings, wishes and ideals and lifestyles at that time. Therefore, the works of art in different times are the concrete embodiment of the spirit of that era, the future. Artists must "inspire people with excellent works". The status and value of an artist are reflected through his works of art.
Secondly, the degree to which an artist's creative practice or artistic works meet people's spiritual and cultural needs will also directly affect the artist's status and value. It is an unchangeable truth and law that art should follow the times. If an artist is "based on his good talent and excellent quality of cultivation, he has created a large number of excellent works of art with high artistic value and great significance, which constantly stirs people's hearts and enriches and enriches human spiritual life."