Chinese Culture >> Chinese Art Gallery and Western Art Gallery >> Chinese Paintings
The roots of Chinese
paintings can be traced back to paintings on Neolithic pottery six or seven
thousand years ago. Since similar tools and lines were used for the earliest
painting and writing, painting is said to have the same origin as
Chinese calligraphy. Thus, Chinese
paintings usually integrate poetry or Chinese
calligraphy with themes that include figures, landscapes, flowers, birds and
other animals. Traditional Chinese painting remains a highly valued genre, often
on exhibit in China as well as other countries. The contemporary art world in
China is also very active. Some Chinese artists
have become adept at Western-style painting, both oil and watercolor. Many
Chinese painters have created works that combine traditional Chinese painting
techniques with those of the West, enhancing both forms. The China Art Gallery
and other art galleries hold individual or joint art exhibitions year in year
out. Art expositions are held each year in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai
Chinese characters evolved from pictures and signs, and the Chinese art of calligraphy developed naturally from its unique writing system. Through the ages, great calligraphers developed representative calligraphic styles of their times. The love of calligraphy is deeply ingrained in Chinese scholars, and has been handed down to the present day.
Click on Chinese paintings below to enlarge.
To view more paintings by famous artists, go to Chinese Art Gallery and Western Art Gallery