Dai Benxiao lived in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and after the death of the Ming Dynasty, he regarded himself as a "relict" and devoted himself to the creation of landscapes and rivers. Dai Benxiao's father was a general who resisted the Qing Dynasty at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and then committed suicide by hunger strike. Dai Benxiao was full of resentment towards the Manchu Qing court, and made a vow to live forever and live in seclusion in the mountains. This painting depicts his life after retreating, and the mountains in the painting are tall and steep, with sharp edges and angles, much like Mei Qing and Shi Tao's Huangshan.
Dai Benxiao is a native of Hezhou and lives in an area hundreds of kilometers from The Huangshan Mountains. But he likes to play around and find teachers and friends. The famous artists of the same era, such as Shi Tao and Hongren, were closely related to him. Therefore, it is understandable that his painting style is similar to that of the Huangshan School. Dai Benxiao likes to paint with dry brushes, but "The Shadow of The Lake and the Mountain" presents a clean beauty, which should be his work after middle age.
Dai Ben Xiao Hu Shan Qing Ying
Painting can express the mood, for Dai Benxiao, what he wants to express most after middle age is the wild interest in the mountains and forests and the clear and high elegance. To this end, he adopted a stacking technique in composition, with mountains and stones of different sizes stacked in one place, in addition to paying attention to changes in brushwork, but also paying attention to changes in yin and yang. In order to simplify his creation, Dai Benxiao painted ancient trees in the mountains to cover the texture of the mountain stones. If there are fewer paintings of forest trees in the mountains, the effect will be better.
Dai Benxiao has a pessimistic side of his personality, which makes him paint this kind of simple and light landscape that is indisputable from the world, which seems a bit difficult for others. Perhaps for this reason, "Lake and Mountain Shadow" overemphasizes the danger in the layout and operation to hide the decadence. If you understand this, you will understand why he changed his course and painted a clean landscape.
Dai Ben Xiao Lake Mountain Qingying Partial
Pen and ink is naturally more likely to express the feeling of no desire and no demand, Dai Ben filial piety to the ancients, and then the teacher to create. By mastering the laws of natural change, we will understand the mystery of pen and ink techniques. Dai Benxiao felt that surpassing the ancients was an inevitable result, and as long as he broke the rules and regulations set by his predecessors, he could find a better way than the ancients. It can be seen from his creative philosophy that he essentially continues the aesthetics of literati painters. Therefore, he attaches great importance to the feeling of "running".
Painting requires methods, and I am most afraid of being bound by methods. Dai Benxiao tried to break the rules and conform to his heart. How should landscape painting be painted, 100% restoration or the pursuit of god-like? Dai Benxiao did not answer the question directly, he said, "Touch the scene and see the heart." "The scenery is still the scenery, the heart is still the heart, and the relationship between the two is called "Cheng Huai Guan Dao".
The state of mind and feelings are clear like water, without the slightest distraction. Pin Yi Pin, this is the main theme of "Lake and Mountain Clear Shadow". Dai Benxiao's artistic thought was influenced by Lao Zhuang's thought, and he painted landscapes in order to think about the "avenue" in his heart. With a clear artistic pursuit, the hatred in Dai Benxiao's heart gradually disappeared.
He went from escaping the red dust to standing by and calmly paying attention to the red dust. His painting "Lake and Mountain Clear Shadow" shows that he completely let go of the hatred of his home country and began to try to contact the world. This change has transformed his painting style from dry brush thick ink to light ink dyeing.
No longer bitter, the pursuit of indifference, recognize the inner feelings. He painted the "Tao" into "Lake and Mountain Clear Shadow", which has an imposing taste and also enhances the artistic conception of the work.