Summary:
This paper explores the evolution of watercolor landscape painting in terms of aesthetic concepts, focusing on the influence of classicism and romanticism. Firstly, the reverence and rationality of classicism in watercolor landscape painting are introduced, and the objective observation and accurate reproduction of nature are emphasized. Then, the humanistic care and personalized emotional expression of Romanticism on watercolor landscape painting are discussed, highlighting the importance of individual emotional experience and emotional resonance.
I. Introduction
As a unique art form, watercolor landscape painting has an important place in the history of Western art. It originated from the British "wind and earth shape painting", and after years of development and evolution, it has gradually formed a unique aesthetic style. With the advent of the period of large-scale industrial production, the changes in social and cultural atmosphere have also had a profound impact on the aesthetic concept of watercolor landscape painting. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the changes in materials, colors, emotions and ideas of watercolor landscape painting in the process of transformation from classicism to romanticism, as well as the aesthetic significance it carries.
II. The Origin and Development of Watercolor Landscape Painting
A. The influence of British "wind and earth painting" on watercolor landscape painting
The origin and development of watercolor landscape painting is inseparable from the British tradition of "wind and earth painting". "Wind land painting" refers to the artistic activities of British artists in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to depict the scenery of the English countryside, which stems from the love of the local natural environment and the yearning for traditional rural life. During this period, Britain's social and economic development had entered the stage of industrialization, the urbanization process intensified, and people's yearning and attachment to rural scenery and natural landscapes became more and more intense, and this emotion was fully expressed in artistic creation.
The rise of "wind and earth shape painting" has provided an important historical foundation and artistic accumulation for the development of watercolor landscape painting. First of all, "Wind and Earth Painting" emphasizes the true reproduction and accurate depiction of the natural environment, and advocates artists to sketch and record the scenery through the media of sketching and watercolor. This realistic painting style laid a solid foundation for the later development of watercolor landscape painting, which gave it a sustainable development space in form and technique. Secondly, "Wind and Land Painting" focuses on the expression of emotions and souls, emphasizing the artist's emotional experience and personality expression of natural landscapes. This emotionalist concept of painting provided an important reference and inspiration for the emotional expression of later watercolor landscape paintings, making it have a richer connotation and deeper artistic appeal.
B. The interplay between the peculiarities of watercolor materials and landscape painting
The peculiarities of the watercolor painting material had an important influence on the development of watercolor landscape painting. The pigments used in watercolor painting are highly water-soluble, easy to diffuse and penetrate, and can form a unique color effect and a light and translucent texture. This particularity makes watercolor painting more suitable for expressing light and shadow changes and color levels in natural landscapes, making watercolor landscape paintings have a unique aesthetic effect when expressing natural landscapes.
On the other hand, the peculiarities of the watercolor materials also pose a challenge to the artist's creation. Watercolor pigments are easy to diffuse and penetrate, which is difficult to control, and requires artists to have high technical skills and painting experience. Therefore, the creative process of watercolor landscape painting requires not only the artist's deep understanding and perception of the natural landscape, but also the artist's proficiency and flexible use of painting techniques.
The particularity of watercolor painting materials and the interaction between landscape painting make watercolor landscape painting present a unique aesthetic charm and artistic characteristics in artistic expression. The light, translucent and colorful effect of watercolor painting echoes the freshness and brightness of the natural scenery, making the watercolor landscape painting more vivid and vivid when expressing the natural landscape. At the same time, the particularity of watercolor painting materials also prompts artists to conduct more in-depth observation and experience of natural landscapes, making watercolor landscape paintings present richer and more diverse characteristics in terms of emotional expression and artistic connotation.
III. Watercolor landscape painting during the period of industrial mass production
A. The impact of industrialization on landscape subjects in watercolor painting
With the rapid advancement of industrialization, the urbanization process intensified during the period of industrial production from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century, and people's yearning for the natural environment and rural scenery was gradually replaced by the urban landscape brought by industrialization. This shift had a profound impact on the landscape subject matter of watercolor painting. The traditional natural landscape was gradually replaced by industrial scenes such as machines, factories, and railways, and watercolorists began to pay attention to and express the emerging landscapes brought about by urbanization. Through the medium of watercolor painting, they recorded the cityscape and industrial landscape of the industrial period with a unique perspective and technique.
Under the influence of industrialization on the landscape of watercolor painting, watercolor painters began to shift their gaze from the quiet countryside to the hustle and bustle of the city, expressing the changes and challenges brought about by industrialization. With rich colors and delicate brushstrokes, they depict the smoke rising from the chimneys of factories and the scene of trains passing through the city, showing the prosperity and power of the industrial era. At the same time, they also show nostalgia for natural scenery and concern for environmental issues, and call for people to protect the natural environment through their depictions of industrial pollution and natural destruction, which is in stark contrast to the development of industrialization.
B. Expression of the classical aesthetic style in watercolor landscape painting
The expression of the classical aesthetic style in watercolor landscape painting weakened during the period of industrial mass production, but it still had a certain influence. Classicism emphasizes reason and order, pursuing the precise representation of nature and the rigorous control of form. In watercolor landscapes, the classical aesthetic style is reflected in the accurate depiction of the structure and proportions of the scene, as well as the fine treatment of light and shadow effects. Through precise composition and delicate techniques, watercolorists bring natural scenes to life, full of a sense of order and stability.
C. The rise of the Romantic aesthetic style in watercolor landscape painting
Corresponding to Classicism was the rise of the Romantic aesthetic style in watercolor landscape painting. Romanticism emphasizes the expression of emotions and individuality, and pursues the emotional experience of nature and the expression of the heart. During the period of industrial mass production, watercolor painters began to focus on expressing emotional resonance and personal feelings about nature. Through the lightness and transparency of their watercolors and the stark contrast of colors, they create a dreamlike effect that creates an emotional and imaginative atmosphere.
The rise of the Romantic aesthetic style in watercolor landscape painting is manifested in the emotional treatment of natural scenery and the rendering of emotions. Through soft colors and flowing brushstrokes, the watercolorists show awe and praise for nature, conveying a kind of tenderness and care for nature. They focus on capturing the rich and diverse emotions and changes in nature, and through the flexible use of artistic techniques, they give more imagery and symbolism to natural scenes.
IV. The embodiment of color aesthetics in watercolor landscapes
A. Inheritance of Western three-dimensional and realistic styles
In watercolor landscape painting, color is one of the most important elements of expression. The inheritance of Western three-dimensional and realistic styles in watercolor landscape painting has made color an important means of expressing the realism and sense of space of natural scenes.
Through the fine treatment of light and shadow effects, watercolor painters use the light and shade and layering of colors to present a three-dimensional effect on the flat paper. They focus on observing the changes and reflections of light in nature, and through the clever use of transparent watercolor, the changes in light and the texture of objects are brought to life. At the same time, for the treatment of distant and close scenes, watercolor painters create a sense of space through gradient colors and perspective, so that the viewer can feel the depth and distance of the picture.
The pursuit of realism led watercolorists to devote themselves to accurate depictions of natural scenes. Through their delicate analysis and precise use of color, they bring the rich colors and details of nature to life. Watercolorists use the characteristics of transparent watercolor to reproduce the complex and varied colors of nature through techniques such as superimposition, blending, and gradation. They pay attention to the observation and study of color, and through the accurate capture of the relationship between light and shadow and color, the picture presents a realistic texture and vivid color contrast.
B. Watercolor's unique lightness, translucent sheen
Compared to other painting mediums, watercolor has a unique lightness and translucent sheen, which makes it ideal for expressing the softness and transparency of natural scenes.
Watercolors use water-soluble pigments, which make the colors appear soft and transparent. Watercolorists can control the intensity of color by adjusting the ratio of water and pigment to create different color effects. The pigments of the transparent watercolor are able to penetrate and blend freely on the paper, creating a flowing color gradation with a unique gloss. This luster makes watercolors more vivid, delicate, and poetic when depicting natural elements such as water, sky, and plants.
In addition, the lightness of the watercolor painting is also one of its unique characteristics. Compared to other mediums, such as oil painting, watercolor painting uses thinner paper and less paint, resulting in a light and transparent texture as a whole. This lightness makes the watercolor painting closer to the natural lightness and flow when expressing meteorological phenomena such as air, clouds, rain and dew, bringing a relaxed and fresh feeling to the viewer.
V. Emotional Expression and Aesthetic Trends
A. Characteristics of Romanticism's individualized expression of emotions
The emotional expression of Romanticism in watercolor landscape painting presents the characteristics of individualization and emotionalization, and pays more attention to the expression of the painter's personal inner world and the presentation of emotional experience than the objective rationality pursued by classicism.
Emotional subjectivity: Romanticism emphasizes the inner emotional experience of the individual and advocates the true expression of emotions. Watercolor landscape painters incorporate their own emotions into their paintings through observation and feeling of natural scenes. They seek to express their own unique understanding and emotional experience of nature, expressing their innermost emotional experience through color, composition and brushstrokes.
Emotional warmth: Romanticism emphasizes the warmth and passion of emotions, and pursues the publicity and expression of emotions. Watercolor landscape painters often express their inner emotions through full, exciting brushstrokes and colorful colors. They try to convey their love for nature, their enthusiasm for life and their perception of life through the formal language of the painting, so that the viewer can deeply feel the strong impact of the painter's inner emotions.
Emotional Personalization: Romanticism focuses on the uniqueness and individualized expression of the individual. Watercolor landscape painters express their unique perception and emotional experience of nature through unique perspectives and styles. They pursue to show their unique artistic personality and aesthetic pursuit in the picture, and present unique and charming works of art through the personalized treatment of form, color and emotion.
B. The ambiguity of the classical aesthetic in the expression of emotion
The emotional expression of classicism aesthetics in watercolor landscape painting presents a kind of ambiguity and objective rationality, which pays more attention to objective objectivity and rational thinking than the personalized emotional expression of romanticism.
Emotional objectivity: Classicism pursues objective objectivity, emphasizing the expression of objective facts and reality. Watercolor landscape painters often present the objective appearance of natural scenery through objective observation and depiction, and avoid expressing too much personal and subjective emotions in the picture. They pay attention to the objective reproduction of natural scenes, showing the true face of nature through precise depiction and accurate color processing.
Emotional restraint: Classicism emphasizes emotional restraint and rational thinking, and avoids excessive expression of personal emotions and emotions. Watercolor landscape painters often express inner peace and rationality through restrained brushstrokes and elegant colors. They pursue the balance and harmony of the picture, avoid excessive personal emotions in the picture, and pay attention to the overall effect and aesthetic taste of the picture.
Emotional universality: Classicism pursues the universality and universal value of emotion, emphasizing the common emotional experience and life experience of human beings. Watercolor landscape painters often express human reverence and worship for nature through depictions of its vastness and magnificence, presenting a universal emotional resonance. They focus on the universal meaning of natural scenery and the universality of human emotions, so that the viewer can resonate and experience together.
VI. The Influence of Ideas on Watercolor Landscape Painting
A. Romantic humanistic care and personalized emotional expression
Romantic ideas and concepts have had a profound impact on watercolor landscape painting, which is characterized by humanistic care and personalized emotional expression.
Humanistic care: Romanticism emphasizes the emotional experience of the individual and the inner world of human beings. Watercolor landscape painters integrate humanistic care into their paintings through the depiction and representation of nature. They focus on the relationship between humans and nature, emphasizing the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. In their paintings, they often express concern for human fate and emotions by depicting people, depicting scenes of human activity or love for the natural environment. This expression of humanistic care makes the paintings closer to human life and touches the emotional resonance of people's hearts.
Personalized Emotional Expression: Romanticism pursues the uniqueness and individualized expression of the individual. Watercolor landscape painters show their unique perception and emotional experience of nature through unique artistic techniques and personalized emotional expressions. They pay attention to expressing their unique artistic personality and aesthetic pursuit in their paintings, and present unique and charming works of art through the personalized treatment of form, color and emotion. This personalized expression of emotion makes the painting more artistic and unique, revealing the artist's unique emotional world.
B. The reverence of classicism and the embodiment of reason in the concept of thought
Classicism also had a profound impact on watercolor landscape painting, which was manifested in the embodiment of awe and reason.
Awe: Classicism pursues reverence and worship for nature. Watercolor landscape painters show a sense of reverence for nature through their depictions and representations. Through precise depiction and delicate color treatment, they show the magnificence and vastness of natural scenes, making the viewer feel the solemnity and majesty of nature. This reverence for nature gives the painting a sense of imposing and sacred that transcends human beings, and makes people feel a sense of awe for nature.
Rationality: Classical thought focuses on rational thinking and objective observation. Watercolor landscape painters show objective observation and rational thinking of natural scenery through accurate perspective and precise composition. They follow the principles of proportion and structure, and strive to accurately reproduce the form and structure of natural scenes. At the same time, they pay attention to the harmony of colors and the stability of brushstrokes, and pursue the balance and harmony of the picture. This rational expression makes the painting have an objective and real characteristic, showing the painter's rational understanding and expression of nature.
Author: Lu Xilin
Bibliography:
Ferretti, S. (2014). Landscape in watercolor: A journey through time. Dover Publications.
Honour, H., & Fleming, J. (2009). A world history of art. Laurence King Publishing.
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