The Art of Chang Dai-Chien

             Chang Dai-Chien is known for his skill of imitating traditional Chinese historical artists. He borrowed techniques from the diversity of Chinese art. Upon my arrival at the gallery, the atmosphere of the ancient epoch created by the paintings presented at the art show impressed me very much. The atmosphere of a different era was utterly amazing considering the fact that Chang Dai-Chien was a modern painter.
             The brush paintings, seen at the exhibition, were very interesting for several reasons, however, the ones that appealed to me the most were symbolism and the imagery of the paintings. The importance of symbolism in Chinese Art is immense. It reveals and subsequently portrays cultural attitudes, conventions, and events of a certain period of time, which makes the paintings not only exquisite works of art but also a retrospective of the history of China. Chang Dai-Chien was an acclaimed genius of his genre because he had an incredible ability to revive the atmosphere of the past. One painting that had a huge impact on me was "Lofty Scholar Beneath the Pine" (1982). It portrayed a man standing beneath the tree, contemplating. Even though it might sound like a very simple theme, the insight into its meaning brings about much more than can be said. The smoky clouds in the painting, the misty, dim peaks of the mountains set a mood of mystery; a scholar looking at the mountain peaks, at the beautiful pine tree adds a touch of an enigma. The use of pastel tones of the clouds and mountains helps to support and reflect the symbolism of them, which can be interpreted as the mystery of the future and the unknown. Whilst the scholar may very well represent the quintessence of a human being trying to comprehend the essence of life. All of Chang Dai-Chien's brush paintings comprise imagery that is quite symbolic, i.e. paintings such as "White Pigeon Among White Leaves" and "Cloudy Waterfalls and Summer Mountains" are visual portrayals of self-...

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The Art of Chang Dai-Chien. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 06:22, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/63719.html