Ink wash painting
Ink wash painting is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses washes of black ink, such as that used in East Asian calligraphy, in different concentrations. It emerged during the Tang dynasty of China, and overturned earlier, more realistic techniques. It is typically monochrome, using only shades of black, with a great emphasis on virtuoso brushwork and conveying the perceived "spirit" or "essence" of a subject over direct imitation. Ink wash painting flourished from the Song dynasty in China onwards, as well as in Japan after it was introduced by Zen Buddhist monks in the 14th century. Some Western scholars divide Chinese painting into three periods: times of representation, times of expression, and historical Oriental art. Chinese scholars have their own views which may be different; they believe that contemporary Chinese ink wash paintings are the pluralistic continuation of multiple historical traditions.
In China, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Korea, ink wash painting formed a distinct stylistic tradition with a different set of artists working in it than from those in other types of painting. In China especially it was a gentlemanly occupation associated with poetry and calligraphy. It was often produced by the scholar-official or literati class, ideally illustrating their own poetry and producing the paintings as gifts for friends or patrons, rather than painting for payment.
In practice a talented painter often had an advantage in climbing the bureaucratic ladder. In Korea, painters were less segregated, and more willing to paint in two techniques, such as mixing areas of colour with monochrome ink, for example in painting the faces of figures.
The vertical hanging scroll was the classic format; the long horizontal handscroll format tended to be associated with professional coloured painting, but was also used for literati painting. In both formats paintings were generally kept rolled up, and brought out for the owner to admire, often with a small group of friends. Chinese collectors liked to stamp paintings with their seals and usually in red inkpad; sometimes they would add poems or notes of appreciation. Some old and famous paintings have become very disfigured by this; the Qianlong Emperor was a particular offender.
In landscape painting the scenes depicted are typically imaginary or very loose adaptations of actual views. The style of mountain landscapes are by far the most common, often evoking particular areas traditionally famous for their beauty, from which the artist may have been very distant.
Philosophy
East Asian writing on aesthetics is generally consistent in saying that the goal of ink and wash painting is not simply to reproduce the appearance of the subject, but to capture its spirit. To paint a horse the ink-wash painting artist must understand its temperament better than its muscles and bones. To paint a flower there is no need to perfectly match its petals and colors, but it is essential to convey its liveliness and fragrance. It has been compared to the later Western movement of Impressionism. It is also particularly associated with the Chán or Zen sect of Buddhism, which emphasizes "simplicity, spontaneity and self-expression", and Daoism, which emphasizes "spontaneity and harmony with nature," especially when compared with the less spiritually-oriented Confucianism.East Asian ink wash painting has long inspired modern artists in the West. In his classic book Composition, American artist and educator Arthur Wesley Dow wrote this about ink wash painting: "The painter... put upon the paper the fewest possible lines and tones; just enough to cause form, texture and effect to be felt. Every brush-touch must be full-charged with meaning, and useless detail eliminated. Put together all the good points in such a method, and you have the qualities of the highest art". Dow's fascination with ink wash painting not only shaped his own approach to art but also helped free many American modernists of the era, including his student Georgia O'Keeffe, from what he called a "story-telling" approach. Dow strived for harmonic compositions through three elements: line, shading, and color. He advocated practicing with East Asian brushes and ink to develop aesthetic acuity with line and shading.
Technique, materials and tools
Ink wash painting uses tonality and shading achieved by varying the ink density, both by differential grinding of the ink stick in water and by varying the ink load and pressure within a single brushstroke. Ink wash painting artists spend years practicing basic brush strokes to refine their brush movement and ink flow. These skills are closely related to those needed for basic writing in East Asian characters, and then for calligraphy, which essentially use the same ink and brushes. In the hand of a master, a single stroke can produce considerable variations in tonality, from deep black to silvery gray. Thus, in its original context, shading means more than just dark-light arrangement: It is the basis for the nuance in tonality found in East Asian ink wash painting and brush-and-ink calligraphy.Once a stroke is painted it cannot be changed or erased. As a result, ink and wash painting is a technically demanding art form requiring great skill, concentration, and years of training.
The Four Treasures is summarized in a four-word couplet: "文房四寶: 筆、墨、紙、硯," "The four jewels of the study: Brush, Ink, Paper, Inkstone" by Chinese scholar-official or literati class, which are also indispensable tools and materials for East Asian painting.
Brush
The earliest intact ink brush was found in 1954 in the tomb of a Chu citizen from the Warring States period located in an archaeological dig site near Changsha. This primitive version of an ink brush found had a wooden stalk and a bamboo tube securing the bundle of hair to the stalk. Legend wrongly credits the invention of the ink brush to the later Qin general Meng Tian. Traces of a writing brush, however, were discovered on the Shang jades, and were suggested to be the grounds of the oracle bone script inscriptions.The writing brush entered a new stage of development in the Han dynasty. First, the decorative craft of engraving and inlaying on the pen-holder appeared. Second, some writings on the production of writing brush have also survived. For example, the first monograph on the selection, production and function of a writing brush was written by Cai Yong in the eastern Han dynasty. Third, the special form of "hairpin white pen" appeared. Officials in the Han dynasty often sharpened the end of the brush and stuck it in their hair or hat for their convenience. Worshipers also often put pen on their heads to show respect.
During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, a group of pen making experts emerged in Huzhou. They included Wu Yunhui, Feng Yingke, Lu Wenbao, Zhang Tianxi, and others. Huzhou has been the center of Chinese brush making since the Qing dynasty. At the same time, many famous brushes were produced in other places, such as the Ruyang Liu brush in Henan province, the Li Dinghe brush in Shanghai, and the Wu Yunhui in Jiangxi province.
Ink wash painting brushes are similar to the brushes used for calligraphy and are traditionally made from bamboo with goat, cattle, horse, sheep, rabbit, marten, badger, deer, boar and wolf hair. The brush hairs are tapered to a fine point, a feature vital to the style of wash paintings.
Different brushes have different qualities. A small wolf-hair brush that is tapered to a fine point can deliver an even thin line of ink. A large wool brush can hold a large volume of water and ink. When the big cloud brush rains down upon the paper, it delivers a graded swath of ink encompassing myriad shades of gray to black.
Inkstick
Ink wash painting is usually done on Xuan paper or washi both of which are highly absorbent and unsized. Silk is also used in some forms of ink painting. Many types of Xuan paper and do not lend themselves readily to a smooth wash the way watercolor paper does. Each brush stroke is visible, so any "wash" in the sense of Western style painting requires partially sized paper. Paper manufacturers today understand artists' demands for more versatile papers and work to produce kinds that are more flexible. If one uses traditional paper, the idea of an "ink wash" refers to a wet-on-wet technique, applying black ink to paper where a lighter ink has already been applied, or by quickly manipulating watery diluted ink once it has been applied to the paper by using a very large brush.In ink wash paintings, as in calligraphy, artists usually grind inkstick over an inkstone to obtain black ink, but prepared liquid inks are also available. Most inksticks are made of soot from pine or oil combined with animal glue. An artist puts a few drops of water on an inkstone and grinds the inkstick in a circular motion until a smooth, black ink of the desired concentration is made. Prepared liquid inks vary in viscosity, solubility, concentration, etc., but are in general more suitable for practicing Chinese calligraphy than executing paintings. Inksticks themselves are sometimes ornately decorated with landscapes or flowers in bas-relief and some are highlighted with gold.
Xuan paper
Paper was first developed in China in the first decade of 100 AD. Previous to its invention, bamboo slips and silks were used for writing material. Several methods of paper production developed over the centuries in China. However, the paper which was considered of highest value was that of the Jingxian in Anhui Province. Xuan paper features great tensile strength, smooth surface, pure and clean texture as well as a clean stroke; it has great resistance to crease, corrosion, moth, and mold. Xuan paper has a special ink penetration effect, which is not readily available in paper made in Western countries. It was first mentioned in ancient Chinese books Notes of Past Famous Paintings and New Book of Tang. It was originally produced in the Tang dynasty in Jing County, which was under the jurisdiction of Xuan Prefecture, hence the name Xuan paper. During the Tang dynasty, the paper was often a mixture of hemp and mulberry fiber.The materials used in Xuan paper are closely related to the geographical environment of Jingxian. The bark of the Pteroceltis tatarinowii, a common variety of elm, is used as the main material for the production of rice paper in this area. Rice and several other materials were later added to the recipe in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In those dynasties bamboo and mulberry began to be used to produce Xuan paper as well.
The production of Xuan paper is about an eighteen-step process – taken in detail over a hundred steps may be counted. Some paper makers keep their process strictly secret. The process includes cooking and bleaching the bark of Pteroceltis tatarinowii and adding various fruit juices.