The Origin and Development of Painting

First of all, prehistoric painting

The oldest known painting is located in Grotte Chauvet, France, and some historians believe that it dates back to 32,000 years ago. These paintings are carved and painted with red ochre and black pigments, with the theme of horses, rhinoceroses, lions, buffaloes, mammoths or humans returning from hunting.

Cave murals are common all over the world, such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, China, Australian and Indian. The discovery of these paintings has caused many different speculations about their purpose of existence. Some hypotheses pointed out that those paintings were considered by people at that time as paintings that could capture the souls of animals and make them hunt more smoothly.

Some hypotheses think that it is an animistic phenomenon, expressing their respect for nature; There is also a hypothesis that human beings are born with the need for self-expression, and those paintings are the result; In addition, there are also views that it is the dissemination of application information.

Second, the eastern and western traditions.

Western culture is dominated by oil painting and watercolor painting, with rich traditions in form and subject matter. Oriental painting is dominated by ink and mineral pigments, and has a rich tradition in form and theme.

Third, modern times to the present

The invention of photography had a great influence on painting. The first photo appeared in 1829. After decades, photography technology has been continuously improved and widely used, so the original function of painting to record the real world has also been challenged.

From 65438 to the end of 2009 and the beginning of the 20th century, a series of artistic activities, including Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism and Dadaism, challenged the views on art in the Renaissance. However, oriental art and African art still maintain their previous styles and are not influenced by photography.

The viewpoints of modern art and contemporary art are different from the historical values and concepts of traditional art, so it is said in 1960 that strict painting style is dead. However, this has not stopped most painters from continuing to regard painting as part or all of their creation.

The vitality and variability of painting in the 2 1 century overshadowed the previous declaration that rigorous art was dead. In an era characterized by cultural diversity, there is no understanding of the representative style of the times. Artists continue to create with different styles and aesthetic temperament, and their achievements are left to the evaluation of the market.

2/kloc-At the beginning of the 20th century, the painting schools that are still continuing are monochrome painting, hard painting, geometric abstraction, appropriation, surrealism, photographic realism, expressionism, minimalism, lyric abstraction and popular art;

Op art, abstract expressionism, color gamut painting, neo-expressionism, Cora Qi, Intermedia painting, collective painting, computer art painting, post-modern painting, new Dada painting, three-dimensional canvas painting, environmental mural painting, traditional figure painting, landscape painting, portrait painting, glass painting animation.

Extended data:

I. Elements

1, brightness

Brightness means that the color brightness (depth) is shallow, that is, high brightness and low brightness. An element in painting is the feeling and effect of brightness. Every point in space has different brightness, which can be represented by black, white and various grays in the middle in painting.

In practice, a painter can express the shape of an object by juxtaposing points with different brightness. On the other hand, if only different colors with the same brightness are used, it may only represent the shape of an image. The basic skills of painting will include geometric patterns, many different viewpoints and organizations (perspective) and symbols.

For example, when a painter looks at a specific white wall, every point will have different brightness due to the reflection of shadows and surrounding objects, but ideally, even in a completely dark room, the white wall is still white. Because even if there is no light in the room and it is dark, the object still exists and does not disappear, so it can be proved that its theory is correct.

2, color and tone

Color and tone are the basis of painting, just like pitch and rhythm in music. Color is highly subjective, but its psychological effect can be observed, but its effect may vary from culture to culture. For example, in western culture, black represents death and mourning, while in eastern culture, it is represented by white.

Some painters, theorists, writers and scientists (including Goethe, Wassily Kandinsky and Newton) all put forward their color theories. Moreover, language can only represent an abstract color. For example, the word red can represent light in the range close to pure red light in the visible spectrum.

Just like in music, are different musicians interested in the central C or C? There is a common definition of * * *, but different painters do not have a recognized definition of color. For painters, colors are not only divided into basic colors or derivative colors (such as red, blue, green, brown, etc. ).

When painting, the painter paints with pigments, so the painter's "blue" may be one of the following colors: midnight blue, indigo, cobalt blue, ultramarine and so on. The psychological and symbolic meaning of color is not necessarily related to painting techniques. Color can add some potential and derivative meanings, so the feeling of a painting is very subjective.

This part can be compared to music. The pitch in music (such as the center C) is similar to the light in painting, the shadow is similar to the strength, and the color is similar to the timbre of different instruments. Although these may not form a melody, you can add some different contents to the music.

3. Non-traditional elements

Modern painters have expanded their painting, such as Laqi, who is derived from cubism. Strictly speaking, it is not a painting. Some modern painters will blend different materials because of different materials, such as sand, water, straw or wood.

Works like Jean Dubois and anselm kiefer fall into this category. There are also more and more artists using computers and software such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter to draw colors on digital canvas, and if necessary, they can also print on real canvas.

Step 4: rhythm

The rhythm in painting is as important as that in music. If rhythm is defined as "pause in sequence", painting also has its rhythm. Such a pause can involve imagination and produce new creations, styles, melodies and colors.

The distribution of these forms (or any kind of information) is very important in artistic works, which will directly affect the aesthetic value of works. In terms of aesthetic value, the free flow of perception is regarded as beauty. Not only in art or science, the free flow of energy will enhance its aesthetic value.

Second, aesthetics and theory

Aesthetics is the study of art and beauty, and it is one of the topics discussed by philosophers such as Kant or Hegel in 18 and 19 century. Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle also have special expositions on art and painting.

In Plato's philosophical system, painters and sculptors have very low status. He thinks that painting can't describe the truth, and it just copies the actual thing, with no other ingredients except craftsmanship, just like shoemakers and cast iron.

However, in the period of Leonardo da Vinci, people's understanding of painting was different from Plato's. At that time, it was thought that "La Pittura è cosa mentale" (painting is a spiritual thing).

Kant distinguished beauty from magnificence and analyzed their similarities and differences. Although he didn't mention painting, painters like Joseph Mallord William Turner and Caspar Friedrich extended their concepts to painting.

Hegel believes that beauty cannot be defined universally. In his aesthetic research, he thinks that painting, poetry and music are three "romantic" arts, among which there are symbolic and highly intelligent purposes.

Third, painting style.

Painting is a form of capturing, recording and expressing different creative purposes, and the number of participants is also huge. The essence of painting can be natural, symbolic (such as still life or landscape painting), photographic painting, abstract painting, narrative, symbol, emotion or politics.

A large part of paintings in history are dominated by spiritual themes and concepts. From mythical figures on pottery to biblical story scenes on the inner walls and ceilings of the Sistine Chapel, spiritual themes are expressed through the human body itself.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-painting