Ten Thousand Li of the Yangtze River
Wang Hui
Ink on silk
Wang Hui was a Chinese landscape painter. Painting ran in his family from his great grandfathers, grandfather, father and uncles. Hui was taught by Zhang Ke and Wang Shiming.
I chose this piece because it is strong and mysterious yet the lines are gentle and soft. Wang Hui puts a strong feeling on the one mountain and then the mountains behind it are s oft and calm. The dark lines in the right side, mid bottom are dark and bold. His calligraphy strokes are put together well to make a nice effect. It seems like if I were to make lines like that it would look like a spilt a paint can, not a magnificent, majestic mountain.
I like your description of the painting; it is indeed soft! Most Chinese paintings are! That’s why I also chose Chinese art for my first Non-Western blog. Their pieces are so majestic looking, and yet the washes are so soft. The “bleeding” look that happens when ink is applied to wet paper (or silk in this case) creates this effect. Everything turns out smooth!
I’m not really sure who those people are that you mentioned at the beginning of your blog, but they must have been very influential in the art world if their legacy goes back that far!
I want to know if silk would have been the Chinese version of canvas..? I didn’t read anything about it, and I’m assuming this was not a piece to be worn on the body!
Your blog was good, and I’m glad someone appreciates Chinese style painting as much as I do!