"Realism" In Chinese Painting And Its Practice Mode In Early 20th Century

Early 20 th century(about 1900 to 1933),some ambitious people attributed the backwardness of China for China's traditional culture which was lagging behind Western advanced technologies.So when "Science" and "democracy" on behalf of Western thought,once was introduced to China,it soon became popular in various fields.In the field of Chinese painting,its performance was "realism" style.Firstly,this paper tries to define the meaning of "realism" in early 20 th century.After comparing with naturalism,rationalism,China "classical realism",traditional Chinese thought,we can find that this period painting of the "realistic" concept required painters to face and reflect reality.Based on this,the paper further discusses how was the "realistic" concept embodied in the painting practice.On one hand,the "Science" made artists having the ability to reproduce reality.The spirit of science taught Chinese artists how to observe the truth of nature.While some specific scientific disciplines,such as perspective,color science,optical,Anatomy,made up for the shortcomings of traditional Chinese painting theory.Sketches also was going to replace copying and became a new way of learning painting.Through sketches,painters can use these "scientific" theories in the creation of Chinese painting.The other hand,the "democratic" asked artists to focus on the real-life for the mass of the world.In this period,portraits became popular and Yue fenpai--a new product of a historical era,also reflected the improvement of the status of women.In short,during this period,introducing "realism" in to Chinese painting conformed to the trend of the times,promoted the change of Chinese thought,restored the vigor of Chinese painting,laid the foundation for the Xu Jiang system.Even today,"realism" is playing an important role in Chinese painting.However,it also has some limitations,especially for ignoring the value of "copying" which is worthy of reflection.