Although the figure paintings of the Northern Song Dynasty have made great progress, and there have been masters such as Li Gonglin, the "ancestor of white painting", the Song people themselves have said: "If we talk about Buddhism, characters, scholars, and cattle and horses, it is not as close as ancient times." If we talk about landscapes, forest stones, flowers and bamboo, poultry and fish, it is not as ancient as close. (Guo Ruoxuan, "Pictures see and hear")
Although Yi Xiao did not agree with this statement, the landscape of the Northern Song Dynasty did have great development.
Wang Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty said that chinese landscape painting has undergone five major stylistic changes from the Tang Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty: from the Tang Dynasty to the two Li for one, the five dynasties of Jing, Guan, Dong, and Ju for one change, the Northern Song Dynasty Li Cheng and Fan Kuan for one change, the Southern Song Dynasty Li, Liu, Ma, xia for one change, and the late Yuan Dynasty Huang Gongwang and Wang Meng for one change. ——The three changes from the five dynasties to the Song Dynasty have made the landscape painting of the Song Dynasty develop more mature after the five generations, the techniques are more and more complete, and the processing ability of space is becoming more and more diversified, which can be called the golden age of the development of landscape painting.
During this period, emperors, nobles, scholars, literati and wealthy merchants all had a strong interest in landscape painting, and there were many buyers and collectors.
The market demand has led to the enrichment of landscape paintings, ranging from the huge plates of powder-walled screens decorated in the halls and halls of the halls to the sketches painted on the shelves of the scrolls.
At this time, famous artists emerged, and painters also paid more attention to in-depth observation and experience of natural scenes. Because the Northern Song Dynasty fixed the capital of Beijing, the Northern School of Painting became the mainstream, focusing on shaping the landscape image of the Guanluo area on both sides of the Yellow River. Among them, Li Cheng and Fan Kuan were the landscape painters who contributed the most in the early Northern Song Dynasty. At that time, they were mentioned together with Guan Tong (for an introduction to Guan Tong, please refer to the article "This Fan Is Exemplary: Learning From the Blue, Eventually Becoming a Generation of Grandmasters") that I wrote earlier), which was collectively called "Hundred Generations Of Bidding".
A smile today let's talk about Li Cheng first.
Not Li Chenha
Li Chengzi Xianxi was born in the Tang Dynasty clan and Confucian family. However, when he was born at an irregular time, Li Cheng was born in the chaotic world of five generations, the readers were not popular, and the name of the former imperial family was even more a disaster than a blessing.
No way, in order to avoid chaos, the family moved to Yingqiu, Shandong (so Li Cheng is also known as Li Yingqiu).
In order to survive, Li Cheng can only put down his body and make a living by selling calligraphy and paintings.
Li Cheng's landscape painter Jing Hao and Guan Tong, the founders of the Northern School of Painting, were able to come out of the machine on their own, and the Xuanhe Painting Notation records: "The mountains and forests painted are steep and dangerous, and they are full of twists and turns. Flying currents, dangerous stacks, absolute streams, water stones - the wind and rain are obscure, the smoke and clouds are like snow and fog, all spit into their chests, and write in the pen. ”
These characteristics can be seen from the "Maolin Yuanxiu Map" and "Hanlin Pingye Map" and other works that have been handed down.
《Maolin Yuanxiu Map》
The Maolin Yuanxiu Map is 141.8 cm wide and 45.4 cm wide, and is now in the Liaoning Provincial Museum.
Depicting the scenery of the northern summer landscape, it is mainly composed of the Pingyuan method, creating an endless visual effect that advances layer by layer, making people feel that the scene is open and magnificent. (For more information about the Pingyuan method, see my previous book "The Flying Sky of the Whole Network, Do You Know Her Details?") How to appreciate the Dunhuang murals? 》）
With the strength of the pen, the bones of the lines are contained, the ink is delicate and soft, the peaks are rubbed with light ink, the agility is hazy, and the artistic conception is diluted, peaceful, and with a sparse atmosphere. Moreover, the painted mountain stone is like a rolling cloud, which Mi Fu describes as "light ink like a dream fog, stone like a cloud", and later generations called this expression technique "cirrus cloud".
According to experts, the painting was originally a screen that stood around the bed. With the landscape into the screen, so that people can look at the picture and imagine a pure land outside the world when resting, and dream in the green jungle and the flowing stream. (Now that the technology is developed, you can use projection, and the sense of immersion is stronger)
《Cold Forest Plains Map》
"Cold Forest Plains" depicts the scenery of the middle winter plains of Xiaoser, 137.8 cm in length and 69.2 cm in width. It is now in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
The main body of the picture is two ancient pine trees standing on the small soil slope, pine leaves, thick stems, thin branches, and soil slopes are outlined with thin and tough lines, known as "milli-sharp and sharp".
One of the most distinctive is the painting of the branches, regardless of thickness, which is curved and stored at the bend, which is called "crab claw". Some people say that this kind of painting method expresses the artist's resentment of his personal situation.
The distant peaks are the same as the "Maolin Yuanxiu Map", with a small amount of light ink as a small amount of baking dyeing, giving people a sense of beauty and elegance.
Sun Chengze of the Qing Dynasty had a very high evaluation of the "Cold Forest Plain Field Map" in the "Gengzi Summer Elimination": "Ancient wood is dying, the snow is cold, and the jackdaws are clustered in the decaying grass." The summer moon exhibition, such as the North Wind Map, allows people to expand, but non-camp hills can not also. ”
"Reading the Stele Stone Map"
There is also a "Reading Stele Stone Map", which is also a painting of a dead old tree, but there is an additional stone stele in the scene, a literati who read the stele and his bookboy.
Looking at this cold forest, the single monument, the wilderness, and the silent stone, and then thinking about The situation in which Li Chengsheng was in a chaotic world and huaicai did not encounter it, there was indeed a feeling that the heavens and the earth were vast and the life was lonely.
Li Cheng's painting method is concise, and he makes good use of light ink to express rich layers and empty spaces, which is known as "cherishing ink like gold" and is known as "the first in the world" in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Although Li Cheng is famous and makes a living from calligraphy and painting, he is a high-ranking person, and often refuses the invitation of the dignitaries and nobles, so there are many popular products in that year, and there are not many works that have been handed down now, in addition to the above introduction, there are also "Qingluan Xiao Temple Map" (Kansas City, Nelson Museum of Art, USA), "Qiao Songping Yuantu" (Chenghuaitang Bunko Collection, Japan), "Little Hanlin Tu" (Liaoning Provincial Museum Collection), "Hanlin Riding Donkey Map" (New York Metropolitan Museum collection), etc. (most of them are controversial), I have found a clear version, Put it below, everyone appreciates it (compared to those who randomly accompany the picture or do not match the picture, I am kind of thick, right?). ）。
《Map of Qingluan Xiao Temple》
"Qiao Songping Yuantu"
"Riding a Donkey in the Cold Forest"
"Little Cold Forest Diagram"
This article is a companion article to "Fun talk about the history of Chinese characters/calligraphy" and a series of articles on the history of Chinese art (tentative name). Every minute, harvest a lifetime of knowledge, you deserve it! Pay attention to the previous article, and prompt the update in time. Please indicate the source of the reprint, welcome to the publisher to contact me.