Interpreting Chinese Traditional Beauty Through The Language Of Oil Painting

By interpreting Chinese traditional beauty through the language of oil painting and the expression of contemporary transformation, this article analyzes the integration of Chinese and Western modern oil painting. Through further analysis of Chinese traditional painting, calligraphy, seal curving, and ink art, this thesis also explores Chinese traditional beauty as seen from the lens of artistic style, form, and expression in oil painting. This paper focuses on the unique effect of differences in culture between east and west that express themselves like different languages in the medium of Chinese ancient beauties’ elegant temperament. I present the idea of a fusion between traditional oil painting techniques and modern western style oil painting, separated by culture but fundamentally similar in art form, in a contemporary transformation of the Chinese ancient beauty theme.Through artistic practice, I integrate the two distinct cultures by combining the spirit of Chinese traditional painting with the power of the western oil painting.On the one hand, western modern art is influenced by Oriental culture; on the other hand, China’s modern oil painters deeply explored "the nationalization of oil painting." I received inspiration from the similarity of Chinese and western art forms in ancient and modern times, and have produced many creations in oil painting. My graduation creation "Chinese ancient beauty" series blurs space and time by integrating the mottled ancient mural into the oil painting pieces to express spatiotemporal uncertainty with a certain stroke style.Balthus was inspired by wet frescoes at an early stage in his life and used that experience to form his personal painting style that symbolizes simple, unadorned nature. Finding his influence in the texture of my works, I pursue the feeling of “a dialogue with Chinese ancient scholars” standing before ancient Chinese murals. As a young artist with traditional Chinese cultural background, if I abandoned the spiritof national art, I will lose the culture behind my art works.Through analyzing a number of famous artists’ works which emphasize the integration of eastern and western art in Chinese modern oil paintings and western modernist paintings, I compare the differences and similarities of planarity between eastern and western art, discuss the abstract elements in paintings, and integrate these fundamental oil painting languages into my oil paintings to absorb ancient and modern elements. Combining Chinese and western art resources through rational cognition and perceptual practice, I systematically further study ancient Chinese and western classical arts from traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, and seal carving to western figurative painting and abstract art.This thesis is composed of five sections.The first section: IntroductionBy analyzing different schools of thought in Chinese modern oil painting, this essay explores the theory and practice of the "nationalization of Chinese oil painting." It establishes the thought of Chinese oil painting creation through further integration of western modern styles and Chinese national characteristics.The second section: Analysis of relevant art language characteristicsBy researching fundamental similarities among the languages of western contemporary painting, Chinese traditional painting, calligraphy, and seal carving,this section presents a system of unobstructed analysis that looks beyond each individual tool, material, or technique of any one cultural habit towards constructing a fundamental painting theory for the mingling of an eastern-western style.The third section: Relevant examples of famous artistsThis section interprets the paintings of various Chinese and western artists in formal language of transition from each other, analyzes concepts of subjective consciousness and personality independent spirit, and unfolds various kinds of art practice under the direction of modern art theory.The fourth section: Practical experience of art creationThrough my graduate work "Chinese ancient beauty" series, this section shows how to combine the previously explored achievements, and how to interpret and use them with my unique perspective in the theme of Chinese traditional painting.The fifth section: Conclusion and expectationMy paper provides in-depth research and practice of the contemporary transformation of Chinese traditional beauties, and explores the feasibility and developmental potential in integrating Chinese and western styles. In the diversified trend of contemporary art development, it plays an important role in the national culture development to integrate Chinese culture into the world based on traditional Chinese aesthetics. In order to achieve the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese culture, it is the noble mission for Chinese contemporary artists to spread our time-honored cultures with its noble spirit to the world.