What is the artistic style of "Cao Quan Stele"?

1. Characteristics of the artistic style of "Cao Quan Stele"

(1) Brushwork

The brushwork used on this stele is rich, colorful and full of vitality. Although the emergence of official script created the square script, this stele still retains some of the techniques used in seal script. It mainly uses a round pen, which still contains the seal meaning but does not reveal the traces. The lines expressed by this round pen have a very thick texture. At the same time, the lines also have a deep and three-dimensional sense. The round and thick lines are one of the characteristics of the pen used on this monument. one. The second characteristic of his writing style is his slightly drooping starting stroke. It starts with the most typical silkworm head writing method, extending from bottom to top in the strokes, making the strokes extremely elastic. The third characteristic of his writing style is his prominent main stroke. The main character here refers to the painting of Bo Teng (this wave is also the characteristic of official script). The thickness of the strokes within a character is arranged appropriately, making people feel that "thickness is not important and thinness is not light", and the overall shape is harmonious and pleasing to the eye. Some of the long and horizontal strokes on this stele are exaggerated. For example, the characters "五" and "Yan" are stretched out horizontally in the typical posture of silkworm head and wild goose tail, which is elegant and free.

(2) Structure

The knot characters of this stele are mainly horizontal. The emergence of Bo Teng is a sign of the maturity of official script. This stele also gives full play to the role of Bo Teng strokes, making the characters stretch left and right, showing a flow like water, and most of the characters appear flat and square, so there is a kind of Very decorative. However, compared with other Han steles of the same period, "Cao Quan Stele" paid more attention to the specific shape of the font itself on the basis of the overall horizontal trend, and also used some vertical fonts, such as "stomach", "bing" and other characters. , instead of flattening the fonts blindly, making the processing of font structure more versatile and artistic. In addition, this stele can well reflect the relationship between calligraphy and calligraphy. There are both long and sharp strokes, and short and narrow strokes. One long and one short makes the knots appear tight inside and open outward. The palaces in most of the characters are tightly closed, reflecting a "centripetal" effect. Therefore, it is not a simple accumulation of strokes, but a dense place that is airtight, and a sparse place where a horse can gallop. This method of tying characters played a great role in regular script of later generations.

(3) Composition

The entire composition is neatly arranged in rows and columns, with a specific composition in which the word spacing is greater than the line spacing. The layout is mainly sparse and flat, stretched and unrestrained. The fonts are mostly horizontal, with long and square structures in between. The horizontal opening is smooth and the vertical is implicit and steady, so that the composition appears graceful, elegant and colorful.

(4) Aesthetic tendency

In terms of aesthetic tendency, as we mentioned earlier, "Cao Quan Stele" is distinguished by its soft style, exquisite structure and unique aesthetic tendency. It is unique among the genres of stele inscriptions in the Han Dynasty. "Cao Quan Stele" is like an ancient Chinese meticulous painting of a lady, with a unique charm. The beauty, dignity, peace and tranquility of "Cao Quan Stele" are in sharp contrast with the honest, simple, dignified, powerful, simple and powerful beauty of other Han steles.