Reimagining the past, Wang Shimin's landscape paintings

Summary

The video explores a landscape painting by Wang Shimin at the Shanghai Museum, emphasizing the significance of hanging scrolls in Chinese art. Unlike hand scrolls, these large-scale works allow for public viewing and discussion. Wang Shimin, drawing inspiration from earlier Yuan Dynasty artists like Huang Gongwang, focuses on brush techniques and composition rather than emotional responses to nature. The painting exemplifies the intellectual approach of literati artists, often reflecting on China's artistic traditions while subtly commenting on political dynamics of the Qing Dynasty. The detailed brushwork, atmospheric effects, and scholar figures create a serene, reflective landscape.

Takeaways

• 🖼️ The transcript discusses a landscape painting by Wang Shimin in the Shanghai Museum, which is a hanging scroll, a public art form that contrasts with the more private hand scroll.
• 🌄 The painting is mounted on silk, allowing viewers to take in the entire landscape at once, unlike hand scrolls which are viewed in sections.
• 🎨 Landscape painting as a genre began to flourish during the Five Dynasties period, where it started to be appreciated as a subject in its own right.
• 🏞️ Wang Shimin's work reflects on the principles and techniques of landscape painting, showing a shift from earlier artists who were more immersed in nature.
• ✍️ The painting is monochromatic, focusing on the brushwork and composition, with influences from Yuan Dynasty painter Huang Gongwang.
• 🏛️ The artist was part of a scholarly literati culture in Jiangnan, an area known for its distance from the Beijing court and its emphasis on artistic and literary pursuits.
• 🖋️ The painting features specific boulders and the dry brush technique, showcasing the artist's study of past works and their signature style.
• 🌲 The painting includes various trees with different brushwork, illustrating the artist's attention to detail and the movement of the brush.
• 🏞️ The composition uses a formula that guides the viewer's eye through the painting, from the foreground to the background, using mist and mountains to create depth.
• 🧘 The painting embodies themes of reclusion and scholarly retreat, common among literati artists who sought to distance themselves from court life.
• 🏛️ Despite the literati's preference for reclusive art, Wang Shimin and his peers also painted court works, indicating a complex relationship with the imperial art world.

Q & A

What is the significance of the hanging scroll as an art form?

The hanging scroll is a public art form that allows for a full view of the painting at once, unlike hand scrolls which are unrolled a small section at a time. It was meant to be displayed on walls, discussed, and could be used for decoration, allowing many people to view it simultaneously.

How does the landscape painting by Wang Shimin differ from earlier landscape paintings?

Wang Shimin's landscape painting is more intellectual and reflective, focusing on the theories, principles, brushwork, and composition of landscape painting. Earlier landscape painters were more immersed in nature and responded emotionally to it.

What is the historical context of Wang Shimin's painting in relation to the political climate?

Wang Shimin's painting reflects a time of political ambivalence due to foreign rule, similar to the Yuan Dynasty with the Mongols and the emerging Qing Dynasty with the Manchus. Artists like Wang Shimin, who were part of the scholarly literati culture, might have distanced themselves from the court and focused on art as a form of reclusion.

What is the Jiangnan region mentioned in the script, and why was it significant for artists like Wang Shimin?

Jiangnan refers to the area south of the Yangtze River, which was culturally rich with a scholarly literati culture. It was significant for artists like Wang Shimin because it was a place where they could engage in artistic pursuits away from the political center in Beijing.

How does the monochromatic aspect of Wang Shimin's painting contribute to its artistic style?

The monochromatic style of the painting, which uses only ink without color, emphasizes the brushwork and the artist's signature style. It allows the viewer to focus on the subtleties of the ink application and the textures created by the brush.

What is the significance of the empty void or empty paper in the painting?

The empty void or empty paper in the painting is used to suggest mist around the mountains, creating an atmospheric effect. This technique allows the viewer's imagination to fill in the space, enhancing the sense of depth and distance in the landscape.

What is the role of the scholar figure in Wang Shimin's painting?

The scholar figure in the painting represents the ideal of reclusion and contemplation, which was a common theme in Yuan Dynasty art. The scholar's gaze over the pond and bridge invites the viewer to consider the tranquility and introspection associated with the literati lifestyle.

How does the composition of the painting guide the viewer's eye?

The composition uses a diagonal from the lower left to the upper right to guide the viewer's eye through the painting. It starts with the foreground trees, moves along a stream, and leads to the central peak, creating a sense of movement and depth.

What is the difference between the use of wash and dry ink in the painting?

Wash ink, where ink is dissolved in water, is used to create softer, more atmospheric effects, such as misty ravines. Dry ink, with less water, is used to define the contours of the mountains and create more distinct, textured lines.

How does the painting reflect the literati culture and the hierarchy of artists?

The painting reflects the literati culture through its intellectual approach to art, focusing on brushwork and composition rather than literal representation. It also reflects a hierarchy where scholar-artists, who are reclusive and create art for like-minded peers, are seen as truer artists compared to those working for the emperor.

Outlines

00:00

🖼️ Landscape Paintings in Chinese Art

The video script discusses a landscape painting by Wang Shimin in the Shanghai Museum, highlighting the significance of hanging scrolls as a public art form in contrast to hand scrolls. Kristen and Beth explore the evolution of landscape painting from the Five Dynasties period, emphasizing its development as a genre independent of narrative settings. They note the painting's monochromatic style and the artist's focus on brushwork, composition, and the influence of past artists like Huang Gongwang. The conversation also touches on the political context of the Qing Dynasty, the role of artists like Wang Shimin in the scholarly literati culture of Jiangnan, and the painting's elements of reclusion and misty atmospheric details, which are characteristic of landscape art.

05:00

🎨 Artistic Techniques and Intellectual Approach

In the second paragraph, the focus shifts to the technical aspects of the painting, with an emphasis on the use of ink to create different textures and contours. The discussion contrasts the reclusive nature of scholar-artists with those who served the court, highlighting the perceived hierarchy that values the former more highly. The conversation reveals the intellectual approach of Wang Shimin and his contemporaries, who created art for an educated audience of like-minded artists. The script concludes with a reflection on the irony of these artists also working for the court, despite their preference for a more intellectual and less literal form of art.

Keywords

💡Hanging scroll

A hanging scroll is a traditional Chinese art form where paintings are mounted onto silk and hung on walls for public viewing. Unlike hand scrolls that are unrolled and viewed in sections, hanging scrolls allow the entire artwork to be seen at once. In the video, Kristen and Beth discuss how hanging scrolls were used for public display and discussion, contrasting them with hand scrolls that were viewed in smaller groups.

💡Landscape painting

Landscape painting is a genre of art that depicts natural scenery such as mountains, rivers, and forests. The video explains that landscape painting emerged as a distinct genre during the Five Dynasties period, where it transitioned from being a background element to a central subject of art. The painting by Wang Shimin discussed in the video is an example of a landscape painting that showcases the artist's interest in the principles and techniques of this genre.

💡Wang Shimin

Wang Shimin is a Chinese painter from the Qing Dynasty who is highlighted in the video for his contributions to landscape painting. He is noted for his intellectual approach to art, focusing on the theories, principles, and brushwork that define landscape painting. The video describes how he studied the works of earlier artists like Huang Gongwang and incorporated their techniques into his own paintings.

💡Huang Gongwang

Huang Gongwang is a Yuan Dynasty painter renowned for his work 'Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains.' The video script mentions him as an influence on Wang Shimin, whose painting style and brushwork are compared to Huang's. Huang's use of dry brush techniques and his depiction of mountain contours are specifically cited as inspirations for Wang Shimin's work.

💡Jiangnan

Jiangnan refers to the region south of the Yangtze River in China, known for its scholarly literati culture and artistic production. In the video, Kristen mentions that Wang Shimin was active in this area, which was somewhat distant from the political center in Beijing. This geographical and cultural context is important for understanding the artistic community and the themes of reclusion and scholarly retreat that are present in Wang Shimin's paintings.

💡Monochromatic

Monochromatic in art refers to the use of a single color or a range of shades of a single color. In the context of the video, the term is used to describe the painting by Wang Shimin, which is executed in various shades of ink without the use of color. This choice emphasizes the artist's focus on brushwork and the expressive qualities of ink.

💡Brushwork

Brushwork in Chinese painting refers to the style and technique of using a brush to apply ink or paint. The video discusses how Wang Shimin's painting showcases his mastery of brushwork, with specific attention to the dry brush technique and the expressive lines that define the landscape elements. The script provides examples of how different brushwork techniques are used to depict various textures and forms in the painting.

💡Reclusion

Reclusion in the context of Chinese art and culture refers to the theme of withdrawing from society to live in seclusion, often in a natural setting. The video mentions this concept in relation to the scholar depicted in Wang Shimin's painting, who is gazing out from a pavilion, suggesting a desire for retreat and contemplation. This theme was prevalent during the Yuan Dynasty and continued into the Qing Dynasty.

💡Mist

In the video, mist is discussed as a key atmospheric element in Chinese landscape painting, used to create depth and distance in the composition. The script describes how the empty spaces in Wang Shimin's painting suggest the presence of mist around the mountains, blurring the view of distant trees and enhancing the sense of depth in the landscape.

💡Scholar-artist

A scholar-artist is a term used to describe artists in Chinese culture who were also scholars, often involved in the literati tradition. The video explains that these artists, like Wang Shimin, were seen as 'truer' artists due to their intellectual approach to art and their focus on scholarly pursuits. The script contrasts the reclusive scholar-artists with those who served the court, highlighting the cultural hierarchy and the different artistic goals of these two groups.

Highlights

The landscape painting by Wang Shimin is a hanging scroll, a public art form that hangs on walls for communal viewing.

The painting is mounted onto silk, allowing for a full view of the landscape, unlike hand scrolls that unroll incrementally.

Hanging scrolls were used for discussion and decoration, contrasting with hand scrolls and album leaves that limit viewership.

Landscape painting as a genre began in the Five Dynasties period, evolving from a narrative setting to a subject of artistic focus.

Wang Shimin reflects on the importance of landscape painting in Chinese art history, 600 years after its emergence.

He focuses on the principles and techniques of landscape painting, rather than an emotional response to nature.

Wang Shimin studies the brushwork of Huang Gongwang, a Yuan Dynasty painter known for 'Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains'.

The painting captures the response of artists to foreign rule, similar to the sentiments during the Yuan and Qing Dynasties.

Wang Shimin was part of a scholarly literati culture in Jiangnan, south of the Yangtze River, which was distant from the Beijing court.

The monochromatic painting uses brushwork as a signature, reflecting on past forms and techniques.

The painting features a scholar in a pavilion, a theme of reclusion from the Yuan Dynasty, revisited in the Qing Dynasty.

The composition uses a diagonal to guide the viewer's eye from the foreground to the background.

The painting employs atmospheric details like misty ravines and an empty void to suggest the presence of mist.

The use of wash and dry ink techniques creates a range of textures that unify the composition.

The painting is an intellectual approach to art, made for educated artists, reflecting a hierarchy that values scholar artists over court painters.

Despite the scholarly focus, Wang Shimin and his peers also painted works for the court, highlighting a duality in their artistic practice.

Transcripts

(jazzy piano music)

- [Kristen] Here we are in the Shanghai Museum

looking at a landscape painting by Wang Shimin.

- [Beth] And this is a hanging scroll.

- [Kristen] And the hanging scroll

is a very public art form.

It's something that hangs on the wall.

The painting itself is mounted onto silk.

So we have this opportunity to look

at this entire landscape in one view.

- [Beth] Unlike a hand scroll,

which would've unrolled a arms length at a time.

- [Kristen] These would've been taken out, discussed

and at times they could be used for decoration.

They could hang for a little while longer,

but the idea here is a lot of people

could look at this at one time,

as opposed to a hand scroll or even in an album leaf,

which only three or four people could see

at any given time.

You couldn't fit that many people around the painting.

Here we've got a larger, grander view

and that was something that gave way

to these large landscape compositions.

Landscape paintings as a genre developed

in the Five Dynasties period.

So we see the emergence of landscape painting

as its own genre, not just as a setting for narrative

or a background for events,

but something that is taken as a subject in its own right.

- [Beth] This is 600 years later,

and in some way this is late

in that moment of landscape painting.

It's a time of reflecting back on landscape painting

and its importance in Chinese art history.

- [Kristen] That's what Wang Shimin is doing here.

He's interested in the theories, the principles,

the brushwork, the composition,

the elements that make for landscape painting

- [Beth] Instead of the earlier landscape painters

who are immersing themselves in nature

and responding emotionally to nature,

he's studying art and making his painting about that art.

- [Kristen] Here, he's looking at the brushwork

of Huang Gongwang, this Yuan Dynasty painter

who's famous for his "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains."

- [Beth] The Yuen Dynasty had the Mongols, foreigners,

taking over and ruling China.

Here during the Qing Dynasty which is just emerging,

we have the Manchus coming in and ruling China,

and so the response by artists is similar.

Historically many artists serve the court,

and if you are feeling politically ambivalent

about the new rulers who have come in,

you might wanna distance yourself from that court.

- [Kristen] Wang Shimin was one of several artists

who was active in the south, in this area called Jiangnan,

or south of the Yangtze River.

And that is a place that was a little farther

from the court in Beijing that had

a scholarly literati culture established

through several of the major cities,

Nanjing, Suzhou included.

Wang Shimin painted among other artists,

wrote poetry among his friends.

They shared these works amongst each other

and they were interested

in studying that brushwork of the past.

And you can see here that the work is monochromatic,

meaning there's no color.

The brushwork here is like a signature.

He's looking back at the forms,

specific boulders, the way that Huong Gongwang

used the dry brush technique,

this idea of scraping the contour lines

of each ridge of the mountain.

- [Beth] So to suggest the rock,

the granite and the face of the mountain

and then distinguishing that between different kinds

of trees that we see on the right foreground,

some with short leaves with dark short brush strokes,

another tree where the leaves are more washy,

and then the tree just to the left

where there's a sense of the ink dripping down.

So you have a sense of the movement

of the hand of the artist.

- [Kristen] And you can see that telegraphic link.

And we've also got a scholar sitting in a pavilion

where he's gazing out over this pond and over the bridge.

But you can also look up and trace a little path

up to another group of huts and imagine

that that's another little retreat

nestled into the mountains, this idea of reclusion,

something that was a Yuen Dynasty theme,

here done again in the Qing Dynasty.

The difference here though, is that in the Qing Dynasty

we see a lot more figures.

- [Beth] This relies on a formula

drawing our eye from the foreground with this diagonal

that moves from lower left to upper right.

We encounter a stream that then wanders its way down

into the body of water we see below.

The mist that separates the peaks of the mountains,

and then the sky above.

It is clearly drawing on this tradition.

- [Kristen] Those foreground trees anchor

the entire composition and one large peak at the top.

The flavor of this work is subdued.

And when you see even just the atmospheric details of it,

that's something that you would expect

in any landscape painting.

Misty ravines separating out the peaks,

but here you can see

that there's absolutely nothing painted.

It's just this empty void.

- [Beth] It's amazing to me that that empty paper

is what suggests the mist around the mountains.

- [Kristen] It starts to blur your view of the trees

in the distance as your eye travels up

towards that central peak.

- [Beth] So we can see areas where the mountains

are painted with wash, ink that's been dissolved in water.

- [Kristen] Yes.

- [Beth] And then other places where the ink is very dry

on the brush and has been used to create

contours of the mountains.

- [Kristen] And then on top of it all,

of these rich details, these textures

that unite the entire composition.

- [Beth] So you have these artists who are reclusive.

They're in the mountains, they're in the landscapes.

And that history that distinguishes those artists

from artists who are working at the court,

who are doing more work that is for the emperor.

And there is a hierarchy that has developed

where that scholar artist is seen as a truer artist.

- [Kristen] What we call the literality bias.

The irony of that all is that these artists,

Wang Shimin and several of his cohort,

also did paint works at the court.

But here you can see that this is

a very intellectual approach to art.

- [Beth] It's an art that's made

for educated like-minded artists.

(jazzy piano music)