Contemporary Masters of Chinese Painting -- Zhao Wenyuan

Author: Jia Dejiang, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
Features: The renowned Nanjing painter Zhao Wenyuan's paintings of horses have attracted attention in the Chinese art world and have been called "The Chosen Steed of China." With a divine touch, his horses embody the essence of their subjects, displaying flexible brushwork and a harmonious blend of form and spirit, vividly capturing the spirit of "Elegant Ears like Bamboo and Swift Hooves like the Wind." Zhao Wenyuan is currently a member of the China Artists Association, a council member of the China Ink Painting Research Association, vice chairman of the Jiangsu Artists Association, and deputy director of the Art Creation Studio of the Nanjing Military Region Political Department. He is a first-class national artist. In his works, the horses either stand alone or interact with figures, all exuding fresh vitality and visual tension. His paintings such as Brave and Loyal Soul and Snow Lion Festival have been frequently selected for national art exhibitions and have won awards. Snow Lion Festival depicts Tibetan people riding and leading horses toward the festival site on an autumn grassland. Several galloping horses, modeled after the distinctive Tang-style horse figures, feature reduced heads and hooves while exaggerating the strength of their limbs, making the galloping horses appear both fierce and approachable. The technique combines certain Western painting methods with the traditional Chinese ink and heavy color style, emphasizing the color harmony, texture, and spatial depth of the scene. The objects rendered in his paintings possess both the strength and volume of lines and the richness of color and light. The figures fully reflect the Tibetan people's bravery, resilience, openness, and religious faith. His frequent creation of military-themed works has forged an inseparable bond between Zhao Wenyuan and military horses, shaping his artistic approach to painting horses. He is acutely aware that humans and horses have formed a special relationship through long-term evolution. In daily life, horses are friends and companions to humans, while on the battlefield, they are the confidants and brothers of warriors. To paint a horse well, one must imbue it with human emotions. He has studied the works of high-profile horse painters and related artworks, drawing inspiration from the majesty and solemnity of the Qin Terracotta Army's formations, the grandeur and freedom of the Han stone reliefs of horse armies, and the elegance and splendor of the Tang Sancai galloping horses. He often engages in dialogues with horse-painting masters from the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, and even competes with modern masters of horse painting. He frequently visits military horse stables to sketch, take quick sketches, and photograph horses, observing their anatomy and skeletal structure to become thoroughly familiar with their forms and compositions. He has also traveled multiple times to the southwestern frontier regions of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia for sketches, capturing the spirited galloping horses, herds, and wild horses on paper. His deep understanding of horse culture, combined with the military spirit he embodies, has infused his brushwork, gradually forming his unique style of horse painting. His ink and heavy color horse paintings draw on the strengths of predecessors, incorporating certain external features of Han stone horse figures and Tang Sancai horses. The heads of his horses are slightly reduced, exuding an uplifting and refined spirit. Meanwhile, he enhances the volume of the horses' hindquarters and exaggerates their dynamic movements, giving them a majestic and imposing posture. With elastic, textured, and shaded ink lines, he meticulously renders the horses' lips, teeth, hooves, joints, shoulders, and tails. Heavy color washes lend the horses a powerful and noble aura. His Continuation of the Empresses of the Guo State Riding to the Spring Outing (see illustration) is a continuation of the Tang painter Zhang Xuan's Empresses of the Guo State Riding to the Spring Outing. Zhang Xuan's painting depicts the Guo State Empresses and their attendants riding to enjoy the spring outing, with both humans and horses rendered with lifelike expressions, making it a timeless masterpiece. Zhao Wenyuan took up the brush to continue this renowned painting, filled with the spirit of striving, and chose to focus on the horses to narrate this scene. In the painting, the Guo State Empresses and their attendants have left, leaving behind eight spirited and spirited horses. The highly elastic lines and elegant coloring make the horses leap off the canvas, vivid and lifelike. The combination of golden armor, silver saddles, brocade harnesses, and colorful ribbons fully embodies the royal wealth and auspiciousness. The Tang Great Yuan Horse with Blood Sweat also belongs to this style, representing the culmination of Zhao Wenyuan's research, inheritance, and development of traditional horse painting. Zhao Wenyuan's freehand horse paintings retain the imagery of his ink and heavy color horse paintings, but employ cursive brushwork with varying densities, dryness, and wetness to shape the forms. The lines are precise and rhythmic, while the bodies of the horses are lightly shaded with ink or color. The manes and tails are rendered with unrestrained cursive lines. These freehand horse paintings emphasize the strength and subtlety of the brush, the interplay of light and shadow, and the simplification of form while capturing the essence. The brushwork is vigorous and full of vitality. He freely depicts the spirited horses: with noble heads, strong muscles, robust bodies, firm joints, powerful hooves, fierce poses, and majestic aura, fully embodying the heroic spirit of the "Chariot Horse" described as "Brave and Vigorous, Capable of Ruling Ten Thousand Li." His style differs from both traditional horse paintings and the works of contemporary masters, showcasing his unique personality. "One must not have arrogance but must have dignity. Art reflects character—horses in paintings must not have servility or coquetry." More than just the artist's perception of the horses he paints, this statement reflects Zhao Wenyuan's spiritual pursuit and aesthetic philosophy. It reveals his commitment as an artist to innovating in horse painting while continuing to research its inheritance, deconstruction, and reconstruction.