Chinese landscape painting between pre-20th century and modern time - Essay Example

Chinese paintings The development of the Chinese landscape painting is attached to the various issues including the mining activities of the country. Compared to the modern art, it is evident that the focus of the art was not on humanity, but on the landscape. The western modern art focused on the medium and the different movements across Europe (Elkins 87). For the Chinese landscape painting, it is evident that the artist followed the conservatism approach in the Chinese culture. The difference in paintings is as a result of the cultural differences.

However, similarity exists in the painting displayed in the 20th century and the 21st century. The similarity in the Chinese painting is based on the focus of the artists which largely was on the landscape and the nature environment. The focus of the Chinese artist or painters was not only to capture the issues displayed by the landscape, but to also capture the essence of the energy (Zhen 54). Chinese art was based in the teaching of the Ying-Yeng which is viewed as the source of energy. Even in the landscape paintings the focus was on the essence of energy.

The successful western artistic movements cannot be replicated in the Chinese art because the Chinese art and painting were not based on movement or similarity but based on the view of the individual artists. Therefore, when focusing on the Chinese landscape painting, it is vital to understand the similarities and differences of the modern and the 20th century landscape paintings in terms of material and the focus of the painting (Elkins 26). The modern Chinese painting is not very different from the 20th century landscape paintings because of the depiction of energy and environmental degradation.

In Maoism china, the focus was on oil based painting which is different from the traditional ink based painting. Oil based painting was a feature associated with the western world especially the Europe countries with the focus being on the view of the artist. The Chinese art did not follow the feminism approach are era experienced in the western art but focused on the conservatism presented by the Chinese culture (Zhen 89). In fact, the focus of the Chinese art was significantly different from the western art in terms of the focus and aim of the artist.

In addition, there were no movements associated with the arts presented in the Chinese paintings leading to the serious challenge in analysis. However, it is evident that the Chinese art followed a pattern based on the changes in painting and design leading to understanding of the Chinese culture. The Chinese landscape art is different from the portrait and other forms of painting exhibited in Europe because of the different focus of the organization. In fact, the major challenge is the mode of painting and the medium (Elkins 102).

The medium exhibited in the paintings is different from the European canvas and the use of words and Chinese writings on the painting make the whole painting different from the rest. In conclusion, Chinese painting especially landscape painting maintained the Chinese approach to art which is conservatism. Works Cited Elkins, James. Chinese Landscape Painting as Western Art History. Hong Kong : Hong Kong University Press, 2010. Zhen, Lian Quan. Chinese Landscape Painting Techniques for Watercolor.

Guanzhou: F+W Media, 2013.