The Female Nude, Chinese Painting

The Female Nude

By Yang Zhiguang

A native of Jiexi Country, Guangdong Province, was born in October 1930. He graduated from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts. He was vice president and professor at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. He is now a council member of Chinese Artists Association and a curatorial member of Research Institute of Chinese Painting.

What is known as "Chinese painting" is the painting work, created with tools and materials (mainly writing brush, water ink and natural mineral pigments) peculiar to China and used to reflect the Chinese traditional cultural spirit and aesthetic taste. Rooted in the aesthetic idea of the theory "man is an integral part of nature" based on the thinking of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, traditional Chinese painting follows the creative principle of " Learn from Nature without and comprehend by heart within", and the distinguished characteristics of the expression language is ideal. The form traditional Chinese painting presents is imagery, and even the traditional Chinese slightly realistic painting characterized by fine brushwork, close attention to detail and heavy colors is also in pursuit of implicitness and imaginativeness. Its language of brush and ink is of rather stable standard forms, with lines as the primary plastic means, supplemented by the water ink or color ink block shaping, striving for the vigorousness of lines and the lasting appeal of ink colors. However, the expression language of Chinese painting is not closed, conservative and stagnant, and the broad-minded Chinese cultural spirit determines it is bold in and good at assimilating foreign artistic nutrition to enrich and reinforce itself. Therefore, in the long process of history, the Chinese painting of traditional form will, keeping the pace with the times, develop in evolution uninterruptedly.

By Shao Dazhen

Professor with China Central Academy of Fine Arts

Director of Theory Committee of Chinese Artists Association