The difference between Eastern and Western painting

At the beginning One day, I read an article in Internet. The guy insists that eastern pictures have more complicated subject and sharp expression than western pictures; however, people evaluate the eastern picture with the western standard so that eastern pictures are low-evaluated. At the moment, I find myself to know nothing about eastern painting, even though I am one of the eastern people. I have learned lots of famous western pictures since middle and high school; on the contrary, no one explained the difference point of view between eastern and western painting. I have little information about eastern picture. Thus, I decide to compare and analyze the difference of each painting at this chance.

Comparison & Analysis

1. Perspective on nature

Eastern – All things are regarded as a part of nature, even human in eastern picture. Most of the traditional pictures describe a landscape around us; for example, mountain, river, flowers and trees. Look at the picture 1. Even though there is a man in painting, he is not the focus but just a factor of whole nature. Western – Nature is the object to be managed by human in western picture. There exists belief that human is a center of the world and we can use nature for our purpose. According to this trend, there are lots of portraits in western traditional pictures. Look at picture 2 and 3. The most important theme of these pictures is a human. The environment is limited and has the role of just a background.

Picture 2

Picture 1 Picture3

2. Painting materials

Eastern – It’s common using Chinese drawing paper and Chinese ink. This ink has been spread well on the paper and the color is monotonous. Besides, it’s very hard to paint again on painting which has been drawn once. So, the high quality depends on how it is light or shade according to touch of a brush. Look at the picture 4. All colors are black channels except a red dog collar. And the dogs, which are the center of this picture, are darker than a tree as a background. Western – Major materials are a canvas and oil paints. It is possible recoating the picture and easy to fix it again. And there are lots of colors basically and we can make another color mixing each other. Thus, the artist has to study that how the color is changed according to sunshine or the method of presenting perspective. Look at the picture 5 and 6. The Picture 5 shows us changed color per time and Picture 6 is drawn with the rule of perspective.

Picture 5 Picture 4 Picture 6

3. Purpose of painting

Eastern – Almost all the artists, especially in traditional Korea, were nobles in government service. They used the painting to clean their spirit and extend mental fields. Look at the picture 7. These are 4 elements which are the most popular subject materials. Picture 7

An ume flower informs the beginning of spring with fresh fragrance. An orchid spreads a whisper of aroma over the valley alone. A chrysanthemum makes flower in the cold frost and a bamboo maintains the green color in spite of winter. These pictures mean a cycle of the four seasons and Korean artists want to train their mind through following the nature’s property. Western – A traditional artist in western area was not a just painter but a mathematician, a scientist and an architect. The art was a generalized study so that they tried to have scientific access to subject materials. Look at the picture 8.

Picture 8
These pictures were drawn by Leonardo da Vinci. He observed details of all things around us and invented new equipment using structures of the organism. At the view of this, the major purpose of western painting is a detailed record and how to present details efficiently. A portrait is a record of human appearance and a rough sketch is developed to understand the object more efficiently.

4. Point of evaluation

Eastern – The point of evaluating eastern painting is what symbols in the picture are. Look at the picture 9. There are a magpie and a tiger but their shape is so funny. They are likely to greet each other. Actually, the magpie means accidental good luck. The tiger is an animal to prevent disasters. So this picture has a role of keeping only good news from disasters.
There is another important point. It is called “the beauty of blank.” Contrary to western picture, eastern artists don’t like the fullness of color and character in a limited space of paper.

Picture 9
Look at the picture 10. There is a sailor, but the sky or river is not drawn in this picture. It’s just empty; however, we can feel calm or peaceful atmosphere. We get real composure and freedom with empty space.

Picture 10

Western – Western standard is reality which means the degree, how similar between the real scenery and the picture. Look at the picture 11. This picture gives us feeling which is likely to watch the scenery for myself. The artist uses the perspective to grant vividness to painting. Picture 11
Look at the picture 12. The artist tries having access to reality using the distinct colors. These kinds of people are called “an impressionist.” A strong color appeals that the picture is more dynamic than the real world. As a result, western society had substituted the painting for a photo before the camera was invented. Picture 12

Conclusion It’s not a focus on my essay to evaluate what the better is. Understanding the difference between Eastern and Western pictures helps us evaluate each other with a suitable point; the symbol and reality. However, modern art is not easy to divide into Eastern and Western. Today, the point of evaluation becomes more and more confused and mixed. Look at the Picture 13. The picture is made by Korean artist. The colorful expression is similar to Western while the composition of a painting is same to Eastern. Picture 13

Look at the picture 14. These are Mondrian’s painting. He tried to make the object be simple in a canvas. Actually, all of these are trees but the last one focuses on the symbol of tree.

Picture 14

Could we evaluate this picture with a reality, the traditional point of Western picture? If not, what is the new standard of evaluation for modern painting?