Western and Chinese Paintings

Western and Chinese Paintings

The Renaissance in Europe affected paintings differently in various countries. According to Artforms. In Italy on page 268 edition 9, "...They applied geometry to the logical construction of implied space through use of linear perspective for a more naturalistic feel. Leonardo has a famous example of "The Last Supper" that uses space and geometry with a one-point linear perspective system. The vanishing point holds the greatest implied depth so the viewer can associate Jesus, who is in the middle of the painting, with infinity. (Frank, 2008)

During the Song Dynasty, painters usually depicted vast landscapes that emphasized the use of space to provide the viewer with a harmony (yin and yang) with nature. According to Ortiz, Guo Xi's famous Early Spring painting uses three distances that produces a vast grandeur, foggy recession, and layers to provide the viewer with a variety of viewpoints. The use of heavy brushstrokes and light washes to contrast between misty space and the flowing lines of landscape. Ma Lin left a lot of open space in some of his paintings that give the viewer a sense of being lost in space and in the universe while balancing with nature that was drawn on his paintings. (Ortiz, 1999)

There is use of atmospheric lines as the things that are further in the distance are less detailed.

Works Cited

Frank, P. (2008). Prebles' artforms. (9 ed., pp. 268-306). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Ortiz, V. M. (1999). Dreaming the southern song landscape: the power of illusion in Chinese painting. (pp. 78-80). Brill Acedemic Publisher, Inc.