Western and eastern paintings vary significantly in approach, writing style, painting materials, and creative languages. Several complicated aspects, such as the backgrounds and ideas of the artists involved, also play a role in the evolution of creative traditions. Differences between Chinese and Western art may be seen in composition, material, perspective, and mood.
These distinctions are most likely due to the various ideas that dominated these creative civilizations as they evolved. While Chinese art focused on finding an eternal expression in a scene, it was inspired by Taoism and Buddhism. Western art was more inspired by Christian doctrine and strove to authentically capture sights and landscapes as a reflection of God's nature.
While much traditional Chinese art sought to convey a specific interpretation of a scene or environment, traditional Western art, particularly in its early stages, was more concerned with achieving authenticity.
Both of these art forms would alter and grow through time, based on what became essential in their creative culture, as well as via cultural interchange of ideas and methods.
Introducing the Chinese Art Form
The bulk of traditional Chinese paintings are created with a brush that has been dipped in ink or color and then applied to paper or silk. Paintings are frequently displayed as scrolls. Walls, porcelain, and lacquerware are examples of other substrates. Paintings, like those in John Dodelande's collection, were also used on walls, lacquerware, and ceramics.
Landscape painting's supremacy resulted in the formation of various Chinese symbols, including clouds, water, rocks, trees, and humans. After adopting the symbols, the painters seldom incorporated shades or colors to indicate features of the scene, such as daylight or nightfall. To indicate that it was evening, they would only utilize symbols such as the moon.
Asian art and painting have been influenced by Chinese ideologies such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and especially Taoism, which tries to demonstrate the harmony between humans and the broader universe.
This allows artists to include their own sentiments and emotions in how they depict a landscape. White space is intentionally left in Chinese paintings to encourage spectators to think about and interpret the work for themselves, filling the blank with their images.
The Difference Between Chinese and Western Art
- Expressive vs. Representational Art - Chinese artists frequently depict nature, employing a distinct, inventive, and often expressive style depicting what they observe. This might be a result of the Taoist idea of being in harmony with nature. Western painting, on the other hand, has a more realistic past, employing form, lighting, and shade to achieve a more accurate image.
- Fixed vs. Dynamic Views: Most classic Chinese paintings employed dynamic perspectives, which gave viewers a stronger feeling of movement without requiring realism. On the other hand, Western viewpoints used more rigid ways to generate a sense of reality. The painters were required to make paintings that were as near to actual life as possible.
- Minimalism vs. Shading: Brushstrokes were used by traditional Chinese painters. As a result, they produced minimalist perspectives and personal sentiments. However, when it comes to Western painters, they largely rely on precise brushstrokes to provide shade for everything they paint.
We can see the relevance of philosophy and ideas in how people make art and what it means to them in both civilizations.
