The Research On The Material And Theme Of Watercolour On The Pith Paper Exported In 19^th Century

Watercolor painting on the pith paper, which is one of the paintings exported in the 19th century, is a rare work of art created from the culture exchange between China and West. Because of its distinctive feature - painting on the ricepaperplant,it became the most special one and gained greatest sales in products exported at that time. The present thesis studies the themes, contents and the materials of watercolor painting on the pith paper exported in 19th century from the perspective of history, in the hope of finding out the language elements of painting and discussing western art's reference on it under the background of Western Painting to China. The study applies the research methods of literature, investigation, deductive reasoning and soon, and follows the principles of integration of theory with practice. The present thesis studies mainly from the following aspects: the overview of paintings exported at the end of Qing Dynasty, the evolution of watercolor paintings during the culture exchange between China and West, the influence on watercolor painting on the pith paper from watercolor painting art in England, the themes and contents of watercolor painting on the pith paper, the application of theoretical analysis from the influence on European Art from Ukiyo-e and the feasibility of watercolor painting on the pith paper. The main conclusions are as follows: 1. discuss how the watercolor painting on the pith paper in the 19th century came into being, how to develop and how to become mature and its main characteristics and limitations; 2. investigate the materials, contents and forms of watercolor painting on the pith paper; 3. apply the theoretical analysis of introduction to art to the painting language of watercolor painting on the pith paper; 4. find out the significance and enlightenment of the watercolor painting on the pith paper in the current painting, the development and utilization of material, the commercial value and so on. The significances of the thesis are as follow: watercolor painting on the pith paper, as art merchandise, goes to the world arena during confrontation of Chinese and Western culture. The same as other paintings exported such as oil painting and glass painting, it has distinctive characteristics in culture and history, aesthetic interest and style, which is quite different from traditional Chinese painting. Because it hasn't been handed down from father to son as an independent art form, most of the scholars in China feel a little unfamiliar with it. Moreover, it has limitations in painting material and there are very few books on it domestic market. Therefore, it is very necessary for the academe to develop and study in this field. This thesis aims to discus the distinctive art value of watercolor painting on the pith paper from the study of themes, materials and history background of it and the analysis of the paintings of the representatives, and show the logical relation and influence between it and Western art.