On The Formal And Spiritual Beauty Of Traditional Meticulous Figure Painting

Meticulous figure painting has experienced thousands of years of development and evolution, conveying several thousand years of Chinese civilization since its emergence. The value contained in it is by no means just a form of expression which emphasizes formal and spiritual beauty, nor merely an ornament for house decoration, but a form of art moisturized by and soaked in the great civilization of Chinese nation.Formal and spiritual beauty is the core value in panting, embodying the physical form in visual presentation, and its dynamic interpretation directly influencing the aesthetic fashion and the aesthetic characteristics of the times. Four aspects are discussed in this thesis with the dynamic interpretation of meticulous figure painting’s formal and spiritual beauty as the main line. First, this thesis explores the profound change of formal-spiritual problem from the field of philosophy to that of aesthetics through discussing its aesthetic and philosophical origins and its concern with beauty. By the Wei and Jin Dynasties, this proposition takes the form of deeply concern at people’s shape, spirit, energy, charm, emotion and bearing in daily life. That kind of concern at the philosophy on life is, as it were, a milestone which facilitates cultural consciousness in the realm of painting in China. Because elucidating the philosophy on life is the immortal soul rippling on Chinese paintings. Human’s life and spirit correspond to that of everything on earth, which leading people to add their value of life into the tide of all living things’lives. Thus people can feel the hazy and bleak will of life, and then the discussion on the formal-spiritual problem become an important proposition in which Chinese philosophy and aesthetics endow everything on earth with life and support the idea of they being in a natural and endless state of dynamic exercise. Second, through analyzing and discussing the theoretical origin of the figure painting theories "Vivid Portrayal" and "the Shape as Spirit" which were put forward by Gu Kaizhi, the thesis clarifies that Gu Kaizhi in the first place combined the philosophical discussion on the doctrine of form and spirit with a daily metaphysical sentiment, then developed it and applied it to the aesthetic construction of painting theory. His creative theoretical foundation paved the way for Sheikh’s "six legal codes theory". In this chapter, by mixing and unifying Gu Kaizhi’s doctrine of form and spirit with Sheikh’s "six legal codes theory", the author creates the modeling view of presenting spirit by form, the creation view of imagination and the vivid judging view. Through studying and expounding these three views, the author has further confirmed that formal and spiritual beauty is the soul of painting works, also the thematic production of aesthetic activities and the core value of the painting art. Third, this thesis researches on the painting languages in the traditional meticulous figure painting, namely the spiritual line language and the static color language which forms the focus of the research. And the emphasis is on the disassociating and blending the objectivity and subjectivity of the painting language in the process of appreciating and expressing its beauty. Besides, the significance and function of such objectivity and subjectivity in appreciating the beauty of the painting are also stressed. Then the direction is confirmed in the discussion on the media of formal-spiritual beauty which is "Dig deep into its essence, and observe it beyond its boundaries". The spiritual correspondence between painting and life is the effective gene of the highly perfect painting art. Painters as with poets enjoy themselves so much in taking a panoramic view of all as to forget to leave with their stream of life running away. Fourth, this chapter is based on works analysis, discussing the style of beauty depicted by Chinese traditional meticulous figure painting in its historical context with the aesthetic developments and changes of meticulous figure painting’s formal-spiritual beauty as the chapter’s main argument. Taking several epoch-making artists for example to illustrate the aesthetic orientations in the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties:Gu Kaizhi’s style of painting is simple and morally lofty, graceful and vivid; Lu Tanwei’s is delicate with extraordinary temperament, vigorous drawing with fluency; and Zhang Sengyao’s drawing is like hooks or sharp swords full of novelty and variety. By the Tang Dynasty, both the aesthetic style and overall atmosphere of Chinese meticulous figure painting show several kinds of rare characteristics of the times which are full of masculinity, erudition, youth, health, brightness and profoundness. Such as Yan Liben, a painter whose painting is characterized by complete "six legal codes theory" and truly depiction; Wu Daozi, whose painting is full of various postures and senses; Zhang Xuan’s painting features charming bearings and verisimilitude; and the painter Zhou Fang whose style is dignified and graceful with solemn appearance. The famous classic masterpieces of the above painters unfold the vivid change and performance of the formal-spiritual beauty from the Six Dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties.This thesis searches the profound and endless inner power of the meticulous figure painting by probing the historical and cultural fragments, at the same time manifesting the historical proposition endued by the times. Because the meticulous figure painting manifests different historical propositions and aesthetic styles in different historical stages. However, what behind of this style are not only the succession and enrichment of one kind of painting language, but also the review and identification of traditional values and profound meditation on humanistic thought under the consideration over aesthetics and the times. The development of painting art in such a richly colorful society with its inherent cultural vein silently surging forward generates alteration and performance at a deeper level. While the most impressive performance lies in the "formal-spiritual beauty" which is the core value of change and the proposition of the thesis as well.