The Tragic Consciousness In Chinese Figure Paintings During The First Half Of Twentieth Century

This thesis aims to analyze the Chinese figure painting of the first half of 20 th century in terms of the aesthetic about tragic consciousness. The consciousness of tragedy is a kind of emotional experience and rational consideration derives from the creator and experiencer in the face of tragic reality, as well as a psychological tendency which is dare to fight, pursue and sacrifice when it is bound to fail. It is a psychological tendency which shared by all the human beings and presented in various excellent sino-western art works. Thus the tragic consciousness in Chinese figure paintings during this era would be classified as tragic consciousness of life, politic and history. Author conceives, the evolve of tragic consciousness in Chinese figure painting in this period basically concerning these clues above. In the meantime, here the author would set forth the relevance of tragic consciousness and cultural background of the May Fourth Movement, as well as the meaning of the tragic consciousness in the present stage.Though originated directly from the cultural tradition, the unique features of ‘Sinicism of Tragedy’ changed radically in the May Fourth period. Chinese figure painting in the first half of 20 th century which precisely derive from this cultural background would be expounded in chapter one.Besides, the tragic subject about life in Chinese figure painting during this era would be discussed in chapter two. Life changes and fate flows in the tragic consciousness, which offers an ultimate consideration for us and generates lots of tragic imagery closely related to the life tragedy. The seeking for life, the tough process of fighting against destiny and the ending remains to be seen, they all bring about tragic consciousness of life, massive and infinite. In this chapter the author would explicate it via the aesthetic images of tragic consciousness in life, which includes the imagery of death, the autobiographical notes and tragic life of artists themselves.Furthermore, the political tragic consciousness of Chinese figure painting in the first half of 20 th century would be discussed in chapter three. As for Chinese intellectual, by the political power one brings would fulfill himself. But an unachievable political ideal could be a trigger point if the political environment is in conflict with oneself or there is a defect in his own personality. Here we would mainly focus on the political tragic imagery in works of Lv Fengzi and Xu Beihong.In chapter four, the author would analyze the historical tragic consciousness of Chinese figure painting during this era. Historical tragic consciousness is chiefly embodied in paintings which always depict scenes from ancient history or promote spirits of today’s worthy. Works of Fu Baoshi and Xu Beihong are typically the best for these two aspects because of the vast sense of history, which is the most glorious part of Chinese painting at that stage.In the final installment of the thesis, the author would expound the importance of tragic consciousness for contemporary art, in where also take Chinese figure paintings in that period as reference. Apparently the ideological enlightenment of cultural elites who have a sense of history have become far more debility than it was in previous years, and therewith also the power of tragic consciousness or tragic spirits with the action of consumptive as well as amusive mindset. Thus the tendency of spiritual nihility and kitsch has conspicuously risen, the tragic consciousness in Chinese contemporary art has been decreasing and decaying, but every field of art is awashing with the ideological trend of distraction and vulgarization, till the chaotic and peacockish illusion takes shape. Likewise, it is exactly what Chinese painting has been going through; the climate of blindly following western trends in the field of Chinese painting is a note of caution. It is imperative that we discuss the contemporary significance of tragic consciousness in the current artistic ecology of consumer society.