石涛谈山- Shi Tao on Mountains

 

石涛谈山，说山脉纵横有动势，有时又静静地潜伏着，山像拱揖有礼，山亦缓慢温和地转弯。山之环聚中彼此守着严谨，山之虚灵中表现出智慧，山之纯净秀色中有文气，山之蹲跳中显出勇武，山之峻厉中见惊险，山之高直逼霄汉，山之浑厚表现其宽宏，山之浅陋也不遗忘于巧小。利用山的多种状貌与特性，石涛谈的全是人格：仁、礼、和、谨、智、文、武、险、高、宏、小……其绘画表现中的意境与人情，为19世纪德国美学家立普斯的“移情说”提供了例证。

 

 

 

 

Shi Tao on Mountains: A Study of Emotive Form

When Shi Tao speaks of mountains, he describes their ridges thrusting dynamically across space, yet at other times lying in silent latency. A mountain may bow like a scholar exchanging courteous greetings, or curve with slow, deliberate grace. Where peaks gather in congress, they maintain solemn discipline; in their hollowed voids, they reveal quiet wisdom. Their pristine beauty carries the refinement of literati culture, while their sudden leaps embody martial vigor. Sheer cliffs evoke peril, and soaring summits pierce the heavens. The massiveness of mountains expresses magnanimity; even their humble foothills remember the virtue of small things.

Through these manifold manifestations, Shi Tao’s mountains become allegories of human character: benevolence, propriety, harmony, prudence, intellect, cultivation, valor, daring, nobility, generosity, and humility... His painterly vision—where landscape resonates with human sentiment—anticipates by two centuries the German aesthetician Theodor Lipps’ theory of Einfühlung (empathy), proving how art transcends cultural epochs to touch universal truths.

 

 

石涛谈山，说山脉纵横有动势，有时又静静地潜伏着，山像拱揖有礼，山亦缓慢温和地转弯。山之环聚中彼此守着严谨，山之虚灵中表现出智慧，山之纯净秀色中有文气，山之蹲跳中显出勇武，山之峻厉中见惊险，山之高直逼霄汉，山之浑厚表现其宽宏，山之浅陋也不遗忘于巧小。利用山的多种状貌与特性，石涛谈的全是人格：仁、礼、和、谨、智、文、武、险、高、宏、小……其绘画表现中的意境与人情，为19世纪德国美学家立普斯的“移情说”提供了例证。

*语出吴冠中《放眼看人》

 

 

 

Shi Tao on Mountains: A Study of Emotive Form

When Shi Tao speaks of mountains, he describes their ridges thrusting dynamically across space, yet at other times lying in silent latency. A mountain may bow like a scholar exchanging courteous greetings, or curve with slow, deliberate grace. Where peaks gather in congress, they maintain solemn discipline; in their hollowed voids, they reveal quiet wisdom. Their pristine beauty carries the refinement of literati culture, while their sudden leaps embody martial vigor. Sheer cliffs evoke peril, and soaring summits pierce the heavens. The massiveness of mountains expresses magnanimity; even their humble foothills remember the virtue of small things.

Through these manifold manifestations, Shi Tao’s mountains become allegories of human character: benevolence, propriety, harmony, prudence, intellect, cultivation, valor, daring, nobility, generosity, and humility... His painterly vision—where landscape resonates with human sentiment—anticipates by two centuries the German aesthetician Theodor Lipps’ theory of Einfühlung (empathy), proving how art transcends cultural epochs to touch universal truths.

As quoted from Wu Guanzhong's Seeing with Open Eyes