A brief analysis of Xu Wei’s freehand painting style of flowers and birds and aesthetic propositions
Introduction: The formation of Xu Wei’s freehand painting style is related to his bumpy life experience and is also influenced by the social and cultural trends of the Ming Dynasty. . Let me analyze Xu Wei's freehand flower and bird painting style and aesthetic ideas, hoping to be helpful to you.
[Abstract] Xu Wei, a prodigy in the Ming Dynasty painting circle, integrated poetry, calligraphy and painting into one, and used wild cursive brushwork to express his resentment and turbulent mood at being unappreciated. His works condensed his loneliness and abjection. His life experiences formed his distinctive, wild and eccentric artistic style, which created the freehand style of Chinese flower and bird painting and had a profound influence on later generations of painters.
[Keywords] Xu Wei; freehand brushwork; flower-and-bird painting; aesthetic ideas
The Ming Dynasty painter Xu Wei had an unusual lonely and abject life experience. He relied on his unique artistic talent to enjoy his life happily. The vivid pen and ink created the freehand style of Chinese flower and bird painting, which brought the literati painting to the extreme in its pursuit of expressing true nature through painting. It was different from the elegance, implicitness, quietness and indifference of previous literati paintings, forming a wild and unrestrained style. , wild and free and easy brush and ink style, became the representative of Ming Dynasty painting innovation.
1. Wild and vigorous freehand painting style
Xu Wei can be described as an artistic wizard in the Ming Dynasty painting circle. He was intelligent and talented since childhood, and had outstanding achievements in poetry, calligraphy and painting. But he had a rough life, a tragic fate, and struggled for half his life. In the end, he had no chance of an official career. He had no talent but no way to support him. In his later years, he relied on calligraphy and painting to make a living and became very poor. His unfortunate fate left him scarred, lonely and angry. He used poetry, calligraphy and painting to vent his suppressed emotions and the pain of being unable to realize his ambitions. From his eclectic forms and tension-filled pen and ink, you can feel the pent-up resentment in his chest. He integrated all of this into his poetry, calligraphy and painting, forming a unique style with distinctive personality and strong emotions.
The formation of Xu Wei's freehand painting style is not only related to his bumpy life experience, but also influenced by the social and cultural trends of the Ming Dynasty. In the late Ming Dynasty, social conflicts continued to intensify, and the ideological and cultural fields also showed new changes. In particular, Yangming's "Xinxue" thought was highly praised. The cultural and ideological fields broke through the shackles of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and feudal culture, emphasizing self-expression and individuality. Liberation and the pursuit of expressing one's true feelings became the aesthetic trend after the mid-Ming Dynasty, and also became the aesthetic trend believed by literati and painters. This artistic trend with a rebellious spirit and advocating the expression of true temperament also influenced Xu Wei's painting ideological foundation.
Xu Wei’s ink painting of freehand flowers also pays attention to absorbing the experience of the predecessors. He studied Chen Chun’s freehand flowers, Liang Kai’s ink subtraction, Lin Liang’s thick brushwork, and Ni Zan’s simplicity, etc. Try to figure it out, integrate it, gather the strengths of many schools, and not be limited by tradition, so you can become your own brand.
Under the influence of the social trend of thought in the Ming Dynasty that emphasized self-expression and individual liberation, Xu Wei combined the strengths of his predecessors and reformed the orthodox painting style of the ancients. With his comprehensive and profound knowledge and extraordinary artistic talent, he combined with His ups and downs in life and his cynical, lonely and arrogant heart eventually merged into his uninhibited and unrestrained freehand flower and bird painting style.
2. Painting creation that combines poetry, calligraphy and painting
Xu Wei is rich in knowledge and accomplishment, versatile, and good at all kinds of poetry, calligraphy and painting. "Ming Dynasty Wenyuan Biography" records that Xu Wei was "super talented" and when he was a teenager, he wrote the article "Explanation of Destruction", imitating Yang Xiong's article "Explanation of Mocking". His literary foundation is very profound, and he has high attainments in poetry and drama. His poetry creation is famous for Qilu and Qigu. Yuan Hongdao, the leader of the "Gong'an School" in the Ming Dynasty, greatly praised his poetry and called him "the first poet of the Ming Dynasty". In terms of drama, Xu Wei was the most influential dramatist in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. He created the drama "Four-Voice Ape", which is known as "a unique writing in heaven and earth". He also wrote "Nanci Narrative", which studies the Southern Opera of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and is the earliest monograph on the Southern Opera of the Song and Yuan Dynasties in my country.
Xu Wei has profound attainments in calligraphy. His calligraphy became famous earlier than painting. He rated his calligraphy as the first. He said, "I am first in calligraphy, second in poetry, third in essays, and fourth in painting." In the postscript of "Inscribed on Zishu Yizhitang Tie", it is said: "Exalted books are not to the eyes of the common people, and those who are to the eyes of the common people are not high books. This statement can also be explained to those who know it, but it is difficult to explain it to the common people." Zhang Xu, who studied calligraphy , Huaisu, Su Shi, Mi Fu, etc., which combine the strengths of various schools of thought, Mi Fu was the most influenced, especially cursive script, which is the best and has the most unique characteristics. Xu Wei's cursive writing is detached and uninhibited, with different font sizes and natural patterns, unbridled pen and ink, and free and easy composition. Cursive writing is also the catharsis of his inner emotions.
Because Xu Wei has rich and profound knowledge and accomplishments, poetry, calligraphy and painting penetrate each other and complement each other in painting creation, giving full play to the lyricism and interest of pen and ink of literati paintings, forming the artistic personality of his paintings.
First, combine poetry and painting, express emotions based on objects, and vent the anger in your chest. Xu Wei often writes poems on his paintings, which deepens the artistic conception and ideological connotation of the paintings, and integrates poetry and painting. The most familiar "Ink Grape Picture" uses ink as the color, with thick and light inks randomly intertwined. The grape branches outlined by the ink lines are draped one after another. The dry, wet and light ink blocks of different sizes show the leaves, with ink dots randomly in between. Several bunches of grape fruits are dyed with alternating density and blending of shades, crystal clear and fresh.
A poem written in cursive script at the top of the picture reads: "After half a lifetime, I have become an old man, and my independent study is whistling in the evening breeze. There is nowhere to sell the pearls under my pen, so I throw them into the wild vines." Poems and paintings blend together, and they perfectly complement each other, expressing the feeling of being depressed for half a life. The sorrow of a bumpy fate vents the loneliness and anger of being unappreciated and having no support. "Picture of a Pomegranate" uses freehand brushwork to draw a plump and bursting pomegranate, with a poem written by Kuang Cao on it: "Pomegranates are ripe in the mountains, and they open their mouths to the sun; deep in the mountains, there are few people to collect them, and the pearls are flying away." "Similarly, the poem is used to enhance the meaning of the picture, and the theme is used to express the depression of having no talent and being unappreciated. It not only completes the composition of the picture, but also conveys the emotional meaning of the poem, which is profound. Xu Wei used poetry and painting to express his feelings directly, not only expressing his resentment at the injustice of fate, but also satirizing the dark regime of the late Ming Dynasty and sympathizing with the people. The poem "Huang Jia Picture" contains "The rice is ripe and the fish in Jiangcun are fat, and the two eagles are like halberds sticking out of the green mud; if you turn over the paper and look at it, you should see Dong Zhuo's navel." It is a metaphor for Dong Zhuo, the treacherous minister of Rudong Han Dynasty, who was rampant in this life. In the "Ink Flower Scroll", he wrote a poem: "I am dripping with ink while playing, and the flowers and plants are mixed with each other. No wonder there are two strokes missing in the painting, the way of heaven has been bad recently." He boldly criticized the Ming Dynasty regime.
Secondly, it breaks through the subject matter limitations of traditional literati paintings. "Miscellaneous Flowers Picture Scroll" is his long-scroll ink freehand flower masterpiece, including peonies, pomegranates, chrysanthemums, lotus, sycamores, plantains, wisteria, plum blossoms, narcissus, pumpkins, beans, grapes, bamboo branches, etc., and 13 kinds of flowers and fruits in all seasons. This greatly expanded the subject matter of his flower-and-bird paintings. Whether it was the light and elegant plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos and stones, or the ordinary flowers and fruits of the four seasons, they all became the materialization of his personality and agitated thoughts.
Thirdly, the wild cursive brushwork is integrated into the freehand brushwork, which is unrestrained, bold and unrestrained. Integrating cursive calligraphy into flower and bird paintings is one of the characteristics of Xu Wei's wild and bizarre painting style. The painter Zhao Meng of the Yuan Dynasty strongly advocated "using calligraphy in painting", which was accepted by literati painters. Before the Ming Dynasty, regular script, official script, and cursive script were mainly used in paintings. In the late Ming Dynasty, cursive script was even more advocated in painting. He believed that the cursive script style is more varied. It has more expressive ability and is more favored by literati painters. His "Miscellaneous Flowers Picture Scroll" uses wild cursive brushwork in the painting, with vivid and unrestrained pen and ink. The composition and pen ink are dense, thick, light, slow and melodious, forming an ups and downs rhythm. Xu Wei was well aware of the connection between calligraphy and painting, and believed that the development of freehand painting benefited from cursive calligraphy. He once said: "In the Jin Dynasty, the Gu and Lu generations had fine pens, which were even, round, strong and clean. The ancient seal calligraphers used Xingyi, and later Zhang Seng Yao, Yan Liben, and finally Wu Daozi and Li Boshi, there was a slight change, and the cursive calligraphy became popular, which was another change." He also believed that his freehand flower and bird painting was derived from his own calligraphy cultivation. , the freehand nature of cursive script and freehand brushwork complement each other, giving his freehand flower-and-bird paintings the characteristics of boldness, verticality and horizontality, and majestic strength. The combination of calligraphy and painting pushed ink freehand flower-and-bird paintings to unprecedented heights.
Zhang Dai of the Qing Dynasty said in "Postscript of Xu Qingteng's Short Paintings": "The paintings of Qingteng seen today are bizarre and transcendent. The vigorous and charming appearance is similar to the wonders of his calligraphy. The ancients called it 'Mojie' There are paintings in the poems, and there are poems in the paintings of Mojie. "I said that there are paintings in the books of Ivy, and there are books in the paintings of Ivy." This explains the essence of Xu Wei's calligraphy and painting. *Generality.
3. The aesthetic proposition of “not pursuing form but pursuing rhyme”
Xu Wei has no special painting theory works, and his aesthetic propositions are scattered in his poems and postscripts and various comments. It is also reflected in his creative practice. Xu Wei's artistic creation attaches great importance to expressing his temperament. The images he writes are full of his pain and vicissitudes. His paintings, poems, and calligraphy creations all reveal his inner loneliness and emotional frankness.
Xu Wei emphasizes the originality of art. In the late Ming Dynasty, the printing and publishing industry began to develop, and various paintings appeared one after another, such as plum paintings, bamboo paintings, feather paintings, stone paintings, etc. Xu Wei did not want his creativity to be constrained. Emphasis on originality: "Never look at the plum blossom spectrum, just pick it up at your fingertips. It comes from God. If you don't believe it, just look at the millions of trees. The east wind blows and they will become spring." "Never look at the plum blossom spectrum" does not completely exclude the excellent traditions of the predecessors, but "just pick it up at your fingertips". "Self-existing God" is similar to Xu Wei's "Not seeking appearance but seeking rhyme for survival".
Xu Wei pursues the aesthetic proposition of "not seeking resemblance in form but seeking charm" and "giving up shape but pleasing shadow". "Not seeking resemblance in form but seeking charm" reflects his views on artistic modeling, which also emphasizes the importance of painting. The freehand nature. "There is nothing in this world without samadhi. Old people come to joke about painting flowers. Their long thorns and broad arms are almost withered. Three-in-one thatch cannot be drunk. The gourd can be wiped according to the same pattern. It can be arranged by nature. It does not seek the appearance and the rhyme of survival. It is all me who uproots the roots. Five fingers are planted. Hu Weihu, only the branches are reduced and the leaves are cut off? Jun Mo Guess, the ink is dripping and the rain is pulling them apart." ("Painting Hundred Flowers and His Nephew") From this, we can see Xu Wei's creative ideas and creative techniques. Freehand painting is not about "reducing branches and leaves", nor can it be "following the pattern of a gourd", but "being able to arrange it exactly like nature". Xu Wei is based on nature, not seeking resemblance in form, but gaining charm. The grapes, pomegranates, flowers and fruits, melons, beans, fish, crabs, etc. in his paintings are not similar in appearance, but are lifelike and full of vitality. The images are concise and summarized, the charm is vivid, the writing is fluent, dripping and smooth, and the horizontal and vertical strokes are completely natural. "The pen is not yet ready but the intention is complete; the form is not ready but the spirit is complete." Xu Wei not only pays attention to the external image of natural objects, but also pays more attention to the inner essence and spiritual connotation of the objects, as well as the expression of the inner world and personal interest of the creative subject. It not only conveys the charm of the object, but also reaches the highest state of "careless brushstrokes without seeking resemblance" pursued by literati paintings.
In Xu Wei’s poems and prefaces to calligraphy and painting reviews, there are his aesthetic views on artistic images. For example, to understand “shadow”, you can refer to his bamboo painting poem "A Bamboo Song for Li Changgong": " Shanren wrote about the similar shape of bamboo, only taking the hint of the bottom of the leaf. For example, looking at the top of the bush in the shadow, it is clearly a word. "It can be seen that he is good at expressing "shadow" in painting; he also appreciates "shadow" in viewing paintings. In the title and postscript of "Xia Gui's Mountain and Forest Picture Scroll", he commented that Xia Gui's "clear and vast scenery makes people abandon the shape and enjoy the shadow." He praised Xia Gui's mountain and forest pictures for making the viewer forget the shape of the mountains and forests and enjoy the beauty of the mountain and forest shadows. Xu Wei also emphasized the "true character", the need to show "true temperament" in creation, and the need to express one's feelings directly, which all contributed to his freehand style of painting.
Xu Wei combined the tradition of emphasizing the subjective interest of writing in the literati painting theory of the Song and Yuan Dynasties with the characteristics of the era of individual liberation in the late Ming Dynasty, and absorbed the strengths of the literati paintings of the Song and Yuan Dynasties as well as Liang Kai, Lin Liang, Chen Chun and others, Integrating wild cursive brushwork into freehand brushwork, he broke through the limitations of the subject matter with crazy and clumsy forms. He often painted randomly, jumping up and down, and resembling similar shapes. He also expressed his inner depression with dripping and moist splashes of ink. Strong emotions of grief and anger. He created the freehand style of flower-and-bird painting and completed the revolution in freehand flower-and-bird painting techniques, which was admired by subsequent flower-and-bird painters. For example, Shi Tao said that "green vine brush and ink are treasures in the world", and Zheng Xie said, "It's amazing, everything in creation has it." The painter is unique in Ivy's hand. Ivy's paintings are able to communicate with the gods..." and said that he would like to be "a disciple of Ivy". Later painters Zhu Da, Shi Tao, Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics and Shanghai School painters, as well as modern Qi Baishi, Li Kuchan and others, were all influenced by him. From this, we can see that Xu Wei's creativity and freehand flower-and-bird painting style have inspired and inspired future generations.
[References]
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