Chinese Poetic Paintings and Gothic Art

According to Michael Camille, author of Gothic Art Glorious Visions, “Gothic art is best understood, not through the abstract eye of the engineer or the text-bound gaze of the iconographer, but rather through the eye as the medievals understood it—a powerful sense-organ perception, knowledge and pleasure.” The sensory experience obtained by people who lived in medieval times were a form of virtual reality (according to Camille). “Medieval cathedrals, like compute

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A comparison of the following late Ming paintings, one by Tung Chi-Chang called the Mount Ching-pien and one by Chang Hung called Wind in the Pines at Mount Kou-chu can provide us information on the dominant opposing views in painting at that time. These experiences coupled with the evocative nature of the art work were presented through comparisons of paintings by the literati and paintings by professional artists. Natural order pertains to such matters whether high or low are correctly rendered, whether the scales of object is correct, whether things facing forward or back preserve a sense of freedom and ease, that is whether they have space around them. The Gothic art era, just like other art movements, went through an evolution of sorts. rs, were constructed to contain all the information in the world for those who knew the codes. Tung Chi-chang’s painting is the kind of painting constructed out of conventional forms. It allows us to view these paintings, not just as paintings of landscape, but to feel and maybe see poetry encapsulated in these works. Although the information was slightly contextualized in its historical framework, the focus was on how the people of the time (Southern Sung and late Ming) viewed these works and the experience they gained from it. The ink-monochrome medium also contributes to the abstract character of the work.

The understanding of these two opposing views of art during this time allows us to see the evolution of the Chinese landscape painting and the cyclical component that can be found in it. The Suchou painters, although they did not paint with any masters in mind, painted similarly to the Southern Sung painters of the 13th century in that both were concerned with the natural order of things. The understanding of first hand experiences—in looking at both Gothic and Chinese art--by people who lived during these times allows us to somehow view these works, although limited, through a more personal experienced point of view. The changes occurred in the kinds of messages that were being transmitted and the realization of mans ability to live for themselves in conjunction with the knowledge of the spiritual realm. Medieval people loved to project themselves into their images just as we can enter into our video and computer screens.

Common topics in this essay:
Southern Sung, , Chang Hung, Chang Hungs, God Gothic, De Brailes, Visions Gothic, Gothic Chinese, Mount Kou-chu, Camille Medieval, gothic art, chinese poetic paintings, concerned natural, atmosphere scale, views art, late ming, space atmosphere, sensory experience, poetic paintings, space atmosphere scale, opposing views, southern sung,

Approximate Word count = 1003
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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