Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists. The Chinese art in the Republic of China (Taiwan) and that of overseas Chinese can also be considered part of Chinese art where it is based in or draws on Chinese heritage and Chinese culture. Early "Stone Age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. After this early period Chinese art, like Chinese history, is typically classified by the succession of ruling dynasties of Chinese emperors, most of which lasted several hundred years.
Ink wash painting, or sumi-e is also from Chinese, is a type of East Asian brush painting that uses black ink – as used in East Asian calligraphy – in different concentrations. Emerging in Tang dynasty China (618–907), it, and associated stylistic features, overturned earlier, more realistic techniques. These associated features include a preference for shades of black over variations in colour, and an emphasis on brushwork and the perceived "spirit" or "essence" of a subject over direct imitation. It flourished in the Song dynasty China (960–1279), as well as in Japan after it was introduced by Zen Buddhist monks in the 14th century.
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as guóhuà or, meaning "national" or "native painting", as opposed to Western styles of art which became popular in China in the 20th century. Traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black ink or coloured pigments; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made are paper and silk. The finished work can be mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls. Traditional painting can also be done on album sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding screens, and other media.
Zhao Mengfu, was a descendant of the Song Dynasty's imperial family through Emperor Xiaozong's brother Zhao Bogui who married a lady surnamed Song who was the granddaughter of Emperor Huizong. Zhao Bogui was a descendant of Emperor Taizu, through his son Zhao Defang.
Sesshū Tōyō was the most prominent Japanese master of ink and wash painting from the middle Muromachi period. He was born into the samurai Oda family (小田家), then brought up and educated to become a Rinzai Zen Buddhist priest. However, early in life he displayed a talent for visual arts, and eventually became one of the greatest Japanese artists of his time, widely revered throughout Japan.
Chang Dai-chien or Zhang Daqian was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a guohua (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist painter. In addition, he is regarded as one of the most gifted master forgers of the twentieth century.
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works, landscape backgrounds for figures can still form an important part of the work. Sky is almost always included in the view, and weather is often an element of the composition. Detailed landscapes as a distinct subject are not found in all artistic traditions, and develop when there is already a sophisticated tradition of representing other subjects.
Korean painting includes paintings made in Korea or by overseas Koreans on all surfaces. It includes art as old as the petroglyphs through post-modern conceptual art using transient forms of light. Calligraphy rarely occurs in oil paintings and is dealt with in the brushwork entry, Korean calligraphy. Like arts of East Asia, beauty of space is important for Korean painting.
Tenshō Shūbun was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and painter of the Muromachi period.
Wu Changshuo, born Wu Junqing, was a prominent painter, calligrapher and seal artist of the late Qing Period.
Wang Meng was a Chinese painter during the Yuan Dynasty.
Chen Hongshou (1598–1652), formerly romanized as Ch'en Hung-shou, was a Chinese painter of the late Ming dynasty.
Ma Yuan was a Chinese painter of the Song dynasty. His works, together with that of Xia Gui, formed the basis of the so-called Ma-Xia (馬夏) school of painting, and are considered among the finest from the period. His works has inspired both Chinese artists of the Zhe School, as well as the great early Japanese painters Shūbun and Sesshū.
During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Chinese painting progressed further basing on the achievements in painted art during the earlier Song dynasty and Yuan dynasty. The painting techniques which were invented and developed before the Ming period became classical during this period. More colours were used in painting during the Ming dynasty. Seal brown became much more widely used, and even over-used during this period. Many new painting skills/techniques were innovated and developed, calligraphy was much more closely and perfectly combined with the art of painting. Chinese painting reached another climax in the mid and late Ming. The painting was derived in a broad scale, many new schools were born, and many outstanding masters emerged.
Guan Daosheng also known as Guan Zhongji or Lady Zhongji was a Chinese poet and painter who was active during the early Yuan Dynasty. She is credited with being "the most famous female painter and calligrapher in the Chinese history...remembered not only as a talented woman, but also as a prominent figure in the history of bamboo painting." She is also a well-known poet in the Yuan dynasty.
Juran was a Chinese landscape painter of the late Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and early Northern Song periods.
Guanxiu was a celebrated Buddhist monk, painter, poet, and calligrapher. His greatest works date from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The collapse of the central Tang government in 907, meant artists and craftsmen lost their most powerful patrons. The imperial Tang court had inspired a golden age of literature and art at its apogee. The various provincial courts who claimed to represent a continuation of the tradition of Tang government also claimed continuity in the arts and culture. The state of the Former Shu had acted as the traditional western sanctuary ever since Emperor Xuanzong had sought refuge there during the An Shi Rebellion in 755. By the collapse of the Tang Dynasty something like a miniature Tang court existed at Chengdu. Guanxiu arrived in chengdu in 901, and remained there until his death.
Cui Jie is a Chinese artist who specializes in oil painting and 3-D printed sculpture. Cui's body of work is largely characterized by her play with space and dimensionality, which take shape in her geometric imaginings of Chinese cityscapes. The most common subjects of her works are models of Chinese cultural landmarks of the 1980s and 1990s, such as Shanghai Bank Tower, which are either already or soon-to-be demolished. These towering structures are often surrounded by organic, swirling shapes to place them in a constant state of motion and transition, yet a 'sinofuturistic' context which both revives and reinvents their initial purposes.
Chen Shu was a female Chinese painter during the early Qing dynasty. She was born in Xiuzhou and was also known by the courtesy name Nanlou and her literary names "Shangyuan Dizi" and "Nanlou Laoren". She is considered the first female painter of Qing dynasty as well as the inaugurator of Xiushui School painting style. Apart from her artistic works, she was also known as the mother of Qing statesman and poet Qian Chenqun (zh:钱陈群). After the early death of her husband, Chen raised her son by herself. When the latter became a prominent statesman in the court of the Qianlong Emperor, he introduced the emperor to his mother's paintings. Through this avenue she became favored by Qianlong, and many of her works were featured in the imperial collection. Chen painted figures, landscapes, and flower-and-bird paintings.
"Shussan Shaka" refers to the Zen Buddhist story of Śākyamuni Buddha returning from six years of asceticism in the mountains, having realized that ascetic practice is not the path to enlightenment. The story of Shussan Shaka is an important motif in Zen painting from both China and Japan.
