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"Red Cliff" The Formation And Decline Of Classical Schemata

Posted on:2015-03-07Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:W T YuFull Text:PDF
GTID:2265330425994453Subject:Fine Arts
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With image analysis and literature research, this article attempts to explore the developmentof the classic pattern of “Red Cliff”, and discuss the creative characteristics of traditionalChinese painting.Based on Su Shi’s writings about Red Cliff, to paint “Red Cliff” expressed originally homageand remembering to Su, which can be categorized in the field of “Poetic Painting”. The earlycreations of the “Red Cliff” were transformed gradually from separate depiction ofmulti-scene to general depiction of single scene. Meanwhile, they were detached from Su’stext and became an independent subject, which, however, had not formed a fixed pattern.The Zhe School painters was the major group of “Red Cliff” creation in early Ming Dynasty.According to the image analysis, painters of Wu School applied the same basic ideas of ZheSchool, reforming the composition and image elements through appropriation andrecombination with their own brushwork style, which leaded to the creation of classic patternof “Red Cliff” that leaves profound influence on the following generations. Besides, theliterature research provides additional evidence to the speculation above.The classic pattern of “Red Cliff” was gradually simplified with its increasing popularity.However, oversimplification of the pattern finally led to the loss of the definite connectionbetween the painting and the subject. Both Wu School style and the tradition of narrativepainting were declining in the early Qing Dynasty, and the aesthetic fatigue resulted from theoverabundant Red Cliff images appearing in craft arts and prints combined to dispel painters’passion for “Red Cliff”. As the result, the image pattern created by the Wu School eventuallylost its classic position, and was reappropriated as image resource to other subjects.From its emergence to decline, the development process of the classic pattern of “Red Cliff”is universal and representative in the history of Chinese paintings. This study also provides anopportunity to have a further comprehension of the peculiar creation of Chinese traditionalpaintings.
Keywords/Search Tags:“Red Cliff”, classic pattern, pattern evolution, Zhe School, WuSchool, Wen Zhengming
PDF Full Text Request
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