Some people commented that Wang Yuanqi was the highest-ranking painter among the four kings in the early Qing Dynasty, so he combined literati painting with court painting to create a "dragon vein" landscape. This sentence is very reasonable, the Qing Palace landscape paintings after Wang Yuanqi basically maintain the appearance he created, paying attention to the artistic conception of pen and ink, and paying more attention to the decorative effect. When this style became a pen-and-ink program, it was the standard orthodox style.
Of course, Wang Yuanqi also has merit in creation. For example, he proposed to "write the meaning of Yu with Yu Zhi", which emphasizes personality. His advocacy of taking heaven and earth as teachers shows that he deeply understands the importance of teacher creation. From Wang Yuanqi, we can see his contradictions and fragility, and he is a well-deserved master in terms of aesthetics, creative ability, and creative techniques. However, whenever I admire his works, I feel more repetitive in the picture.
Wang Yuanqi Mountain Residence Map
The "Mountain Residence Map" is a green work painted by Wang Yuanqi, and connoisseurs commented that the painting was "thick and good". The world's evaluation of Wang Yuanqi's works is good and bad, and when he is alive, he says that he is authentic. In modern times, saying that his style is outdated needs to be knocked down. In the 1980s, his works belonged to formalism and had no sense of truth.
Looking at these evaluations, I can't help but ask, is Wang Yuanqi's painting good or not? Taking this "Mountain Residence Map" as an example, he reflects his familiarity with traditional techniques in his creation. Whether he uses a pen or a color, you can see that he attaches great importance to tradition. In order to paint a new idea, he set up a bearing and turning combination on the composition to form a "dragon vein" momentum. He hopes to open up a new face, and he hopes to borrow the past to open up the present. From this point of view, he painted very well.
Wang Yuanqi Mountain Residence Map Partial
When I looked at two, three, or even a dozen of his landscape paintings, I found that they were all dragon vein landscapes, and I felt that it was definitely not good. Wang Yuanqi attaches great importance to the structure of hills and ravines, and he has fixed the various combined forms of mountains and stone ravines, and has unconsciously entered the misunderstanding of stylization. When a person's creation appears stylized, the person's creative ability inevitably faces decline.
Good works have an independent face, real feelings, and even vitality. Wang Yuanqi's paintings are very good everywhere, except for the lack of vitality. His landscapes look majestic, but they are actually quite fragile. The hills and ravines are overly carved and lose their natural taste.
Understanding these truths, we know how to objectively evaluate Wang Yuanqi. He's a celebrity. He is a master, but he is not a "god." He did not have the ability to start a sect, and he could only carry forward traditional techniques as a successful inheritor.
Wang Yuanqi's landscape paintings all imply a stable theme, and he uses a bland and calm charm to express the weather of the Taiping And prosperous world. It is also a manifestation of the stylization of creation, and he feels that he is on an orthodox path, which has shown that his thinking has begun to rigidize.
Repeating the path taken by the predecessors must go further than the predecessors. The ideal is very good, the reality is very cruel, Wang Yuanqi did not really take the risk in the end, his footprints mostly coincide with his predecessors, and he paced a little in place.