Chinese Painting

This beautifully illustrated art book provides the essential concepts of Chinese painting, from vivid figures and awesome landscapes to exquisite flowers and dainty insects.

Chinese painting, one of the oldest art forms in the world, involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black or colored ink. The artist is able to wield the soft brush with strength and dexterity to create a wide variety of strokes and a subtle spectrum of colors. In terms of motifs, it can be divided into three genres, namely figures, landscapes and flower-and-birds, with the former preceding the latter two historically.

The portrayal of figures saw its heyday during the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) while the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD) witnessed a highly-developed sophistication in landscape as well as flower-and-bird paintings.

Chinese Painting starts from the ancient invention of paper and ends with the renewal and innovation of this art form in modern times.