Modern Art in China and the Aspect of Realism - Article Example

Art of Modern China China occupies a center stage in the 21st century international art world. As the country evolves, so too does it’s sculpture, architecture, and art. The country art is a reflection of a significant achievement of the globe’s oldest, living civilization. As the country becomes more modernized, its paintings, sculptures and architecture show the country’s economic and social progression. Chinese modern art is a representation of traditions and innovations (Ward). It combines both foreign and native ideas, with worldly and spiritual images. Modern art in china is a reflection of the western cultural tendencies that depict the political and social developments in a post-industrial revolution world (Andrews & Shen 30). Contemporary Chinese art reflect a westernized artistic style that has Chinese roots. Xu Beihong falls among the first Chinese artist who articulated on the need for Chinese artistic expressions to reflect modern china. Biehong believed in the connection of art and life and the need for artist to focus on the truth through realism than just focusing on the aesthetic value of a painting. From his realistic perspective, Biehong believed that painters could engage further with their environment surrounding and the viewer get to understand better bout life’s true meaning. An analysis of Beihong’s painting ‘Tian Heng and his 500 retainers’ can provide a deeper understanding of modern art in China. Xu Beihong gets regarded as the pioneer of modern art in China. His artistic works bear a significant western influence. He was born in Yixing, Jiangsu in 1895. He was primarily revered for his art paintings of horses and birds. Xu’s career began at a young age under the tutorship of his father who was an artist. He studied oil painting and drawing in Paris under a scholarship from the Chinese government. His travel to Western Europe enabled him to understand and incorporate western art techniques (Ward). His artistic style encompasses both of the east and west. His exposure to western painting traditions provided background for his advocacy for a realist approach in Chinese art and thus his vital role in the transformation of modern Chinese art. He came up with the notion of applying western scientific methods and integrating a western approach such as shading and perspective in his works (Biehong & Xu 109). His realistic approach to art enabled his paintings to evoke human feelings and universal themes. He believed that his artistic expressions of birds and horses symbolized the will of the Chinese people and the love that he had for his country. In the painting ‘Tian Heng and his 500 retainers’, Xu manages to visually manifest a meaningful historical painting in China. The painting is oil on canvas and got done between the years 1928 and 1930. The painting is a depiction of an historical moment in China’s history. The painting is based on the historical account of King Tian Heng who ruled the state of Qi from 77-256 B.C. Tian had waged resistance against the despotic Qin emperor but got defeated in a battle by Liu Bang, founder of the Han dynasty (Sullivan & Murphy 99). Instead of surrendering to Liu, Heng decided to commit suicide by cutting his own neck with a sword. Xu’s painting depicts the moment when Heng bid his 500 retainers before committing suicide. His five hundred retainers also followed suit to prove their loyalty and his integrity. The painting gets crowded with life-size human figures and a horse. The look on the face of his 500 retainers displays their unyielding passion. Some of their faces depict sadness and desolation. The look on Tian Heng’s face however does not represent their sadness. He appears dignified in waving goodbye and his gesture appears to say thank you (Hearn & Smith 84). He looks composed, resolute, and confident. A man on a crutch appears to be surging forward towards him as if to prevent him from climbing on the horse saddle. Thick white clouds droop on the background of the painting. The painting depicts a strong emotional affair between Tian Heng and his retainers. His use of color in the painting brings out the features of romanticism, passion, and symbolism. This piece of painting is a revelation of Xu’s attempts at creating a modern style of Chinese figure paintings. Through his work on ‘Tian Heng and his 500 retainers’, Xu employs a European technique and atmosphere to distinctively tell a Chinese story about righteousness and loyalty. The painting provided an initiative for modern Chinese painters to institute the subject of realism in their expressions. The painting derives its subject matter from ancient Chinese texts just as the European paintings of the time drew inspiration from mythology and antiquity. It is also vital to note that Xu employs the use of oil and canvas as his medium in the painting. He draws away from the traditional Chinese medium of ink, bush, color, and paper. In the painting, Xu embodies the use of life-like figures and provides a dramatic ambience to it that was nonexistent in the works of classical Chinese painters (Evans 67). The use of life-like figures ensures that the painting has a massive scale, which was uncharacteristic of Chinese art at the time. It also injects a realistic perspective to the characters in the painting in that the viewer gets to relate to them. Through the use of facial expressions and gestures on the characters, Xu engages the viewer in trying to understand the happenings in the portrait. It further creates the drama within the painting as the characters all appear to react towards something. To further appreciate the realism depicted within the painting, it is vital to understand the context of the years the painting was done. Xu started painting the work in 1928 and completed it in 1930. These were very historical years for art in china. The late 1920s saw two competing approaches in regards to Chinese art; that of classical realism and the innovative and liberal modern schools of art (Andrews & Shen 143). Xu championed the techniques of classical realism to become injected in Chinese art and was opposed to other forms of art. The innovative and liberal modern school got forwarded by two of Xu’s competitors in Liu Haisu and Ling Fengmian. The two were supportive of impressionist art. This division led to the development of two art schools. In the creation of ‘Tian Heng and his 500 retainers’, Xu might have likely wanted to lay an allegorical meaning to the divisions in Chinese art the time. Xu might have wanted to depict his loyalty and readiness to die for his realism ideals for Chinese art at the time. His painting when provided with its time setting provides a realistic historical context too. The late 1920s also saw the rise of the tensions between china and its neighbors Japan. Xu ight have wanted to reinforce the spirit of loyalty and righteousness to his Chinese audience (Sulivan & Murphy 22). Xu’s paintaining provided his audience with a symbolic story of heroism and loyalty. He probably might have wanted to evoke a similar feeling among his audience in the current time in relation to the tension that was witnessed between china and Japan at the time. Through the painting, he wanted to depict the notion of martyrdom and loyalism across his audience in relation to the tension existing between the two neighboring countries. Xu beihong’s artistic creations and achievements embody his unique artistic ideas and concepts. He gets highly regarded as an artist who brought western influence onto Chinese art. His insistence on the need for Chinese painters to inject realism and a focal point of view on their creations helped to modernize classical Chinese painting. His work on ‘Tian Heng and his 500 retainers’ is a depiction of the realism and impressionism that he propagated in revolutionizing the early 20th century art in china by employing the use of color schemes and human like figures to tell of a historical Chinese occurrence. Adorned with technical expertise and patriotic ideals, Xu Beihong’s ‘Tian Heng and his 500 retainers’ gets viewed as a perfect integration of Chinese and western style influence as well as a roadmap for the modernization of china. Though Xu’s work, modern art in china embodies the aspect of realism, which represents a need for the subject matter of the artist to resonate with his audience as depicting truth. Works Cited Beihong Xu, Fangfang Xu. Xu Beihong: Pioneer of Modern Chinese Painting : Selections from the Xu Beihong Memorial Museum. Denver: Denver Art Museum, 2011 . Evans, Mike. Defining Moments in Art: Over a Century of the Greatest Artists, Exhibitions, People, Artworks and Events that Rocked the World. New York: Cassell Illustrated, 2008. Julia F. Andrews, Kuiyi Shen. A Century in Crisis: Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-Century China. New York: Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, 2003. Julia Frances Andrews, Kui yi Shen. The Art of Modern China. California: University of California Press, 2012. Maxwell K. Hearn, Judith G. Smith. Chinese Art: Modern Expressions. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001. Michael Sullivan, Franklin D. Murphy. Art and Artists of Twentieth-century China. California: University of California Press, 1996. Ward, Caroline F. How has the term "modern" been applied to contemporary East Asian art. 17 January 2010. 10 March 2014 . Ying, Li-Hua. The A to Z of Modern Chinese Literature. New Yok: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010 . Read More