The Rhythm Of Painting

The essence of art is to display life, and rhythm is one of fundamental characters of the life form. So rhythm has a close relationship with painting. This paper discusses the origin of rhythm, its form and function, expounds the rhythm in line and color. The using of line is painting has a long history in both China and western arts. In the west, line is used mainly to portray the outline of the object. While in China, the line is used not only to portray contour but also to express emotion. As far as western artists are concerned, contrast of color shows rhythm and thus displays life. Whereas in China, the unique color idea is merge the rhythm of color into line rhythm. At the end of the paper, the essay is to point out the differences in comprehending rhythm between China and the west. In western painting, rhythm is established on the extent of similarity in appearance. However, in China, displaying the rhythm of life is more important than painting contour. At modern times, westerners gradually paid attention to the form, the expression of emotion. So the westerners and Chinese have identical views on rhythm. Pursuing rhythm and displaying life are the eternal theme in art.