Differences Between Titian and Shitao and the Examples of Their Works

Titian and Shitao
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Titian and Shitao
Titian and Shitao are famous artists in the Renaissance period. Shitao, a Chinese, lived between 1642 and 1707 whereas Titian, a Venetian, between 1488 and 1576 (China Online Museum, Hale, 2012). Living in the same era, the two artists produced distinctly different painting works that came to define their lives. Nishida Kitaro, a leading 20th century Japanese philosopher, uses the notion of “the form of the formless” to distinguish between the Western and Eastern art cultures (Coleman, 1978).
Shitao was born Zhu Ruoji in the Guangxi province of China in 1642. He became one of the most popular painters during the early Qing dynasty with his art paintings considered revolutionary and beautiful (China Online Museum). Shitao expanded the artistic knowledge used by his contemporary predecessors instead of merely copying and exploiting their ancient artistic styles. Shitao expanded his painting knowledge to by innovatively using “washes and bold, impressionistic brushstrokes, as well as an interest in subjective perspective and the use of white space to suggest distance” (China Online Museum). His works mostly focused on painting landscapes, flowers orchids and bamboo (Nanyang Technological University Theatre). Shitao was known to follow his own artistic style that redefined beauty in new standards.
Shitao remains one of the most celebrated artists in the history of China. Being born two years before the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, Shitao narrowly escaped death following the Manchurian invasion and the civil rebellion. After his conversion to Buddhism, Shitao changed his name from Zhu Ruoji to Yuanji Shitao by the mid seventeenth century. He late converted to Daoism and later to Confucianism (Hung, 2011). As a painter, Shitao ditched the traditional Chinese aesthetics that lacked an ecstatic union with the nature to pursue painting that he envisioned to be “vivid, spontaneous visual expressions” (Hung, 2011; p.263). Shitao expressed his love for nature and produced portraits with landscapes that were in harmony with nature. Shitao was quoted saying, “The harmonious creative forces of heaven and earth beautifully merge; the four seasons descend upon us day and night. If one can penetrate the Primal Principle, it is possible to bequeath wondrous things to a hundred generations” (Baihua & De Meyer, 2017). Most of Shitao’s artwork was inspired by nature with most of his landscape portraits depicting his immediate environment
Shitao’s paintings also included depictions of poetry, and Chinese calligraphy inscribed in his paintings without damaging the paintings. The use of Chinese calligraphy enhances the image with poetic words giving life and meaning to the paintings. Powers and Tsiang (2016) postulate that the use of “the easy, rhythmic calligraphy not only complements the artwork, it is also a major element of the painting” (p. 457). An example inscribing poems and Chinese calligraphy is depicted below:
Shitao: Peach Blossoms outside My Widow
Source: Powers and Tsiang (2016; p. 458)
The painting contains the shown inscription that Shitao uses to give his own accounts and circumstances. Shitao painted the above painting nearing sixty Chinese years and inscribes the following;
“Sprig breeze and gentle rain come to the window of my mountain lodge;
Even now I paint blossoms in their colorful attire.
I laugh at myself that in spite of old age, I have not learned to live with leisure,
And must still play with my brush to pass the time”
(Powers and Tsiang, 2016; p. 458)
Shitao artwork was also greatly influenced by the past of his nation inspiring what to be known as the “memory paintings”. The paintings are influenced by his journeys around Jinling and his residency between 1680 and 1687. An example is the image of An Overgrown Hillock, whose inspiration is the Ming dynasty where longed for yet wishing for escape from its memories (Wung, 2011). The images represent the ruins of what used to be houses and palaces. Other Shitao’s paintings sought to define beauty in his eyes, distinguishing himself from the mainstream definition of beauty. For example, the "10,000 Ugly Inkblots" painting is an example of the beauty definition given on a landscape that defies the traditional beauty standards (Powers and Tsiang, 2016). The use of the word “ugly” to an image that would be considered beautiful is ironical in itself giving meaning to what Shitao regarded as abstract beauty defying the normal constructs of beauty.
Titi...