| "Appealing to all" is the general characteristics of Fujian freehand flower-and-bird painting,which can be traced to Shang Guan Zhou, Hua Yan, Huang Shen etc. in the early and middle period of Qing Dynasty. However, the style of " appealing to all " exhibits different features in different regions starting from the coldly elegant early zhao’an style, influenced by Yangzhou School, taking Xie Yingsu, Shen Yaochi as representatives. Then followed the brightly beautiful late zhao’an painting affected by Shanghai School, Ren Bonian,Ma Zhaolin,Shen Ruitu as the representative figures. Between the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century, the West Min (western part of Fujian)School adopted the strong points of others including those in the Western paintings, traditional paintings, Shanghai paintings and the South of the Five Ridges School of painting. Since the early 20th century, the modern paintings in central Fujian Province have displayed a strong impact of the western painting style. By studying Fujian Modern freehand flower-and-bird features, we can have a clear understanding of the extraordinary achievements made by senior artists and the secrete of their success lies in constant discovering, absorbing, innovation and arduous exploration. The creative Fujian painting style formed over the past two hundred years has guiding significance for the painters in the artistic production both now and in the future. |
