The Discussion In The Thesis Is Concentrated On Chen Chun’s Painting Of Birds And Flowers

Chen Chun and Xu Wei, known as "Baiyang and Qingteng" in Chinese art history, both occupied a very important status in the development of Chinese painting of birds and flowers. Baiyang, who established the basic formula for Chinese freehand brushwork of birds and flowers, laid the foundation of the genre and Qingteng. further developed the. genre and pulled it to its climax.The discussion in the thesis is concentrated on Chen Chun’s painting of birds and flowers. With the combination of documentary analysis, exemplification, and analysis of works, some of Chen Chun’s well-known paintings are discussed. Based on the time period Chen Chun lived in, the objective factors that contributed to the formation of his painting style are analyzed. With an unbiased attitude, the thesis gives a detailed introduction of the social, economic, and cultural background of the Mid-Ming Dynasty as well as Chen Chun’s life experience and ideology. The discussion of Chen’s psychological status formed under the influence of social changes is also presented in the thesis in order to investigate the influence of such psychological status on the development of his painting style. By discussion other painters that influenced Chen and the era characteristics of Ming Dynasty’s painting of birds and flowers, further factors that contributed to the formation of Chen’s painting style are analyzed. Also, the thesis conducted a comprehensive elaboration on some painting works by Chen Chun from the perspective of formal features such as the ink and brush, the colors, as well as the composition of paintings. Therefore, the characteristics of Chen’s paintings are displayed and his innovation in terms of the mutual influence of books and paintings, concept of painting from nature, theme of birds and flower paintings, and style of long scroll paintings is further expounded. Using specific paintings as examples, Chen’s impact on latter freehand brushwork of flowers and birds is also discussed. The greatest achievement of Chen’s painting career is that he established the basic formula for the genre of freehand brushwork of flowers and birds. The significance of his painting style in the development of Chinese painting of flowers and birds is obvious. The purpose of this thesis is to inspire thinking about the present by discussing Chen’s painting style. For a talented artist to be prominent in certain historical period, one must work out one’s own unique "solutions of art problems " and aim at the most critical problems in certain cultural situation in one’s era.