有一次老孙问我：“如果你当初没走工笔人物画的道路，画的是油画，你会怎么画”，我回答他：那我可能不会停留在精雕细琢上，而会去把握一种较轻松的画法，从中国传统写意的画理出发，把“中国品格”融进去……

　　画种、画法、画派都不是最重要的东西，在种种形式的内部深层，有一种基本要素，我称它为“基本语言”，它涉及到绘画艺术的终极判断，是一个价值体系的基础，它是艺术情怀，是气质、素质，是对格调的培养，而这一切都是教育的结果。我想和我一样，孙秀庭在大学的学习中学到了真东西，好东西。我们没有被一招一式的教条套住，也没有为了急于成为艺术家去刻意寻找人格化的风格。为了打好基本功，我们都希望在东方、西方两个画种中找到最好的艺术语汇。作为同窗知己，我和孙秀庭面对客观对象进行过高难度的写生训练。

　　格调——什么笔墨提升格调?这里有功夫和技能。

　　孙秀庭进入美院前自学了七年，每天速写本不离手。他的速写有种不羁的直觉，有味道。是他二十岁时画的十分钟速写。有一些感觉上有天分的学生没有把握好自己，被长期作业打磨得平淡无奇了，其症结在于：看你能不能在主观和客观，在理性和感觉中找到平衡点。

　　这个平衡点对当时的孙秀庭来说是三个字：抓特征。随着时间的推移孙秀庭在一幅画中用于分析对象的时间越占越多，这种客观性重于主观性的方法不仅体现在短期作业上，它同时也解决着长期作业的问题。特征也是一个轴心，它一头连着客观存在，另一头连着主观视觉的瞬间一瞥——感觉和感受。

　　他说在基本功训练中，有时几年时间练的就是某一个念头，如形神兼备。向更高更难的标准努力是做学生的使命。今天，当我们把孙秀庭的这些素描速写拿出来，同当下流行的速写相对比，不难发现它们之间的区别：前者注重的是特征的提炼和感受的表达，后者注重的是风格的形式，或者只是一个状物的过程。

　　孙秀庭是到美院后第二年开始学油画的，那时是二十三岁。第一个熏陶了他艺术观的教师是著名油画家刘天呈——人称“色彩刘”。无论素描或色彩，刘老师首先强调感觉、强调灵气、强调画意。他以美学引导基础训练，主张“授人以鱼不如授人以渔”。得益于艺术上第一口奶水,孙秀庭在用色的技术上很快过关了，还保持了自己特有的色彩感受力。他第一次走进刘老师的画室正赶上老师创作《海之歌》，画面上丰富和谐的色彩扑面而来，油画色独有的那种美妙稀有的属性，直接影响到孙秀庭对“油画美”的价值判定。

　　可以说，孙秀庭的油画是以速写的观察方式入手和入门的，这同靠画长期石膏像、长期素描的观察方法入门有许多不同，更准确地说，他从刘天呈那里继承了以自己的笔调表现色彩感受的传统，而这一派画法可上溯到留学法国的第一、第二代中国油画家，他们中间有好几位就是刘老师的老师。

　　正如中国古代词学中有婉约和豪放之分，西方哲学有偏感性和偏理性之分，欧洲古典油画传统一直有两股源泉，一股是重人体结构的佛罗伦萨派如米开朗基罗，一股是被前者称为不重结构重色彩的威尼斯画派，如提香。到了法国，则可分为安格尔、达仰(徐悲鸿老师)、德加、维亚尔的一支传统和德拉克洛瓦、华托、雷诺阿、博纳尔的另一支传统，前者主要是根据素描画人物，后者大多以较明显的笔触用色彩去造型。

　　时光流逝到今天，这两种传统在欧洲已基本失传，却在中国油画家身上留有印记，只是，过去曾经对立的二派已合成一个名字：古典主义，它以中国“新学院主义油画”的面貌呈现于世。欧洲油画经勃拉克、毕加索之手进入立体主义是吸收了非洲雕刻艺术。欧洲油画和中国传统绘画相融会是什么结果呢?中国的绘画传统首先不是立体结构;其次不是色彩;它应该是在笔墨上。

　　以中国画论的某些精华去指导油画也能成就一个西画大家，比如“外师造化，中得心源”，比如“气韵生动，骨法用笔”，可见西画理论和中国画论有同一性，要把它们之间的非排它性悟透，悟不透就对立，打基本功时悟不透问题就更大。

　　在艺术发展的进程中，我赞同起主导作用的是审美内容和审美意义，艺术的使命需要我们去思索：表现丰沛充实内容的完美形式是怎样的?

　　在大学毕业后的若干年头里，孙秀庭以他苦苦的实践回答了“画什么”和“怎么画”的一般问题，他创作了一批内容和形式比较平衡的作品：如《母子》、《微风》、《仲夏之梦》等等。其中《仲夏之梦》参加“中国现代油画展”赴国外展出，这个展览共五十六幅作品,代表着当时中国油画界最高水准。1987年8月15日的《光明日报》报导了该次展览，记录了印度艺术家、评论家的评论：“孙秀庭的《仲夏之梦》……就是以古老的中国手法表现现代情感的代表作，是具有创造性的东方精神与传统的西方艺术形式的有机结合”。

　　对一幅优秀艺术作品的使命而言，它的内容的寓意和实现一种理念的艺术手法不可避免地要上升到宏观文化的层面。我常想，如果孙秀庭的画依照某种高度不停攀登，其作品本身和精神品质一定会开一代风气，并能把个人品格领进文化的普遍性之中，那民族化的价值也就被其他跟进的画家整体彰显。我相信，我和他会在中、西绘画两个领域里共同开拓未来。

　　孙秀庭是在几年后才得知社会对他作品的评价的，那时他已准备去西德美术学院学习西方的真东西。

　　从上世纪八十年代到九十年代后期，孙秀庭的画从审美角度到表现手法出现了三次大的变化(不包括2000年以后)。首先，以《仲夏之梦》，《母子》为代表，表达了唯美的艺术观和纯绘画要素(如色与运笔)的探索。

　　其次，《遥远的地平线》，《命运》开始关注人的存在的精神内涵，其技法成为较次要的辅助手段，色彩转入“非描绘性”，作用于心理暗示。他放弃了锤炼多年的技巧，献身于某种意义，试图追寻独一无二的创新形式。

　　第三次变化则出现在留学期间。他曾带回一批抽象画给我看。和许多尝试突破形式的画家一样，他首先关注主题、理念和非写实性技法的突破。同走入观念的前卫艺术不一样，他仍在追求“绘画性”，其画面的暧昧、抽象、神秘一方面表达出他身处朦胧和不确定的状态，一方面显示出他对纯色彩要素的认识——即对色彩中抽象性质的认识，这和他在写实画中追求色彩的美妙、稀有、合谐，有相通性。为了改变有意识创作的方法，他的抽象画是在“下意识”状态下画出，这合乎他审美角度求变的需要。

　　孙秀庭的画终究没有逾越架上绘画的审美范畴，广阔的艺术阅历使他看透绘画不是一件“无限进化”的事物，他从思考绘画艺术的本质转而关注创作灵感的四面八方的交汇。我俩的艺术观点也在交汇，我期待在新世纪到来之际，他的画在内容和形式上有一种新的回归。我在1999年3月的一封信中对他说：“……绘画失去了标准，失去了难度，必然会导致混乱，这种无序的状态会在下个世纪得到认识(能否解决不一定)，但在中国恰恰容易找到生路，这是中国哲学观决定的。二十年的开放，带给了中国丰富的艺术流派，但回首观望，又似乎一无所获，主要原因是缺少真正的自我。……一个人的成功应该有如下几个方面：民族风格、个人风格、世界水平，或叫开宗立派，不可逾越，而这一切都应该建立在对事物的独特感知和发现上，这一点又基于不同文化的积淀和天然的感知力，要承认天才的作用……”

　　孙秀庭在新世纪初的油画体现了他对欧洲传统技法的深入探求和借鉴，他在欧美的博物馆面对印象派的德加和雷诺阿的原作进行了临摹，并做了与之相呼应的创作实践。从肖像到室内景，不断消化前辈大师的艺术手法，力图保有欧洲古典的韵味，《玻璃窗后的回忆》、《在博物馆》、《绿屋子》等作品是这一时期的代表作。

　　在他把握印象派技法的同时，他的一种“中国古典写意油画”画风也在国际舞台亮相，这是他个人风格的开始。2005年春天，孙秀庭的油画《古韵》出现在法国巴黎的独立艺术家沙龙展上。

　　在画风上《古韵》与十几年前的《仲夏之梦》有同种写意的性质：用笔触书写自己的语言，但笔触又不是目的，它是创作过程的一部分，诗意因它而产生。它悄悄给欧洲观众带来中国画家在视觉上的不同看法。《古韵》能在后印象派画家修拉和西涅克创立的独立艺术家沙龙展出有某种象征的意义。

　　随着孙秀庭的《捶丸图》参加2008年北京国际美术双年展，(P22-23)他的“中国古典写意油画”逐渐形成独有的面貌，其时代特征通过朦胧的有些超现实的意象表达出来，这一时期涌现出大批创作，如《冰肌玉肤不染尘》、《夜宴图》、《江山》、《捶丸图》、《逆风》，我想对《小红低唱我弹琴》给予特别的解读：该画的主题来自任伯年的同名作品，此画初次给人的印象是一片逸笔草草的色线与色膜，这像孙秀庭在抽象画中的第一步，或像中国人背着默画山水的方法，其皴擦涂抹是观察大自然后意象化了的默记，而画中的两个人物形象是在笔墨淋漓的色彩丛中偶然拾得的，整个画面的营造用写生的方法是不可能得到的。同类笔意、墨气也可以在《夜宴图》中找到，它结合着随机赋予的色彩。这是一种即兴发挥的画法，带着自发的性质，把最易消失的感觉记录下来，也是书法行笔后留下的墨迹，多年经验积累的下意识把握。

　　这里，笔触、形、色彩所形成的统一的物质性是形式之美，也是内容的一部分，正如中国的笔墨含有自己的寓意，得到这种画意需要用到“看时不画，画时不看”的方法，这里有一种平衡：人的心象和大自然间的契合。

　　这就是我所说的“中国古典写意油画”，“古典”是指题材和意蕴，“写意”是指借助用笔用色的手段，完成一个表意的过程。而在中国特定的文化现象中，内容与形式互相渗透。在形式和内容的互容性上，绘画就像诗歌。

　　我欣喜地看到孙秀庭至今没有丢失艺术的源头活水——写生自然。在这本画集中，我们可以看到他最近的色彩和素描写生，值得一提的有色粉笔画《彩排》、《春晚》、《北京国际美术双年展第五展厅》和《北师大的画室》等等。

　　自然、传统、心性三足鼎立，三者之间保持着一种平静——中国传统特有的平静。

　　2008年底，我在北京参观完孙秀庭的个人画展后在留言薄上写了一句话，是我的一篇文章的题目，也是我与他的一贯追求：“衡中西以相融”

　　——这是我们说不完的话题，我把它写在本文的最后，它既是一种共有的艺术使命，也是孙秀庭和我同窗之谊的真情写照!

　　2009年3月1日北京

　　The Mission of Painting Seen from theAesthetic Perspective— Reminiscences of Sun Xiuting,My Former Schoolmate in College

　　Once, Xiuting asked me, “If you had chosen oil painting, ratherthan finely detailed Chinese painting, as your artistic profession, whatwould your style be like?” To this I replied, “I would probablynot dwell upon the fine details as I do now, but strive to master arelatively casual technique and to integrate the ‘Chinese character’by means of the spontaneous expression that characterizes traditionalChinese painting…”

　　Genre, technique, and style are not ultimately the most importantcomponents of art. Underlying all these various forms is one basicelement, which I call “basic language”. It involves the ultimatejudgment of the art of painting and serves as the foundation of a valuesystem. It is the perception of art, an artist’s disposition and qualities,and his or her cultivated taste—all these are results of an artisticeducation.

　　I think that, like me, Xiuting has benefited greatly from ourartistic training in college. Our hands and minds were not bound bythose rigid doctrines, nor were we too eager to become artists bypursuing a personal style. In order to lay solid foundations for ourcareers, we searched both Eastern and Western arts for the best meansof artistic expression. As schoolmates, we underwent rigorous sketchtraining using objective things as subjects.

　　How can we improve or elevate our style? The answer lies inpractice and in elaborate skills.

　　Before Xiuting was admitted to the Academy of Art, he hadtaught himself for seven years. Every day he had been seen with asketchbook in hand. With a touch of unruliness, his sketches were ofa unique style. Fig. (P122) is a sketch he drew in 10 minutes at theage of 20. Some gifted art students fail to reach their full potential astheir gift is often dulled by insipid assignments. The key is whether astudent can find the balance between the objective and the subjective,between reason and feeling.

　　Xiuting found his balance by capturing the most unique features ofhis subjects. As time went by, the time he spent analysing the subjectof a painting grew longer and longer. This method which favoursobjectivity over subjectivity not only became evident in his short-termworks, but also solved the problems that he encountered when creatingworks in the long term. A subject’s most distinctive features serveas an axis that connects the objective aspect of the object with thefeelings acquired at first glance.

　　Xiuting says that the purpose of training in building artistic skills,more often than not, is to develop an intuition, or the ability to attainperfection both in form and in style. It is the mission of every studentto strive to meet higher and harder criteria. Today, when we compareXiuting’s sketch exercises with those composed in the style prevalenttoday, the difference is obvious: the former emphasizes the extractionof distinctive features and the expression of feelings, whereas the latterfocuses on the form of styles, or the similitude to objective things.

　　It was in his second year of art school that Xiuting beganlearning oil painting. The first teacher who exerted great influenceupon his perspective on art was a noted painter Liu Tiancheng, whowas known as ‘Liu the Colour Master’. Mr. Liu always gavefirst priority to the perception, ingeniousness, and mood of a work,be it a sketch or a coloured painting. He guided basic training withaesthetics and advocated the theory that “giving others fish is not asgood as teaching others how to fish”. Thanks to Mr. Liu’s teachingand guidance, Xiuting soon became proficient at the use of colourswhile preserving his own characteristic power of perception. When heentered Mr. Liu’s studio for the first time, the teacher was working on“Song of the Sea”. The harmony of multiple vivid colours and thefascinating, rare property of the oil painting exerted direct, profoundinfluence on Xiuting’s appreciation of the “beauty of oil painting”.

　　It can be said that Xiuting took up oil painting with the facultiesof observation needed for sketching. This approach is different in manyaspects from that employed by many artists who have long practiced oilpainting with sketches of plaster models. To be more precise, Xiutinghas inherited the tradition of “giving expression to feelings of colourswith one’s own styles”. This brushwork can be traced back to thefirst and second generations of Chinese painters who learned painting inFrance. A few of them happened to be Mr. Liu’s teachers.

　　Ci poems in ancient China are of two drastically differentstyles: one graceful and restrained, whereas the other powerful andfree. Likewise, western philosophy falls into two schools: the progeistschool and the pro-logos school. The classical European oilpainting traditions have originated from two sources: the FlorentineSchool, represented by Michelangelo, which attaches great importanceto the actual structure of the human body, and the Venetian School,represented by Titian, which the former alleged to place colour in frontof structure in terms of importance. In France, there are also twotraditions: one represented by Ingres, Dagnan (Xu Beihong’s teacher),Degas, and Vuillard, and the other represented by Delacroix, Watteau,Renoir, and Bonnard. While the former mainly depicted characters basedon their sketches, the latter constructed the layouts of their works withrelatively distinctive brushwork.

　　Today, these two traditions have basically lost their prevalence.However, they have left an impression on Chinese oil painters. Onlythe two previously opposing schools are now commonly referred toas “classicism”, which embodies itself in oil paintings of Chinese“neo-academicism”.

　　After absorbing influences from African sculpture, European oilpainting entered the stage of cubism in the hands of Braque andPicasso. What will the hybrid of European oil painting and traditionalChinese painting be like? The tradition of Chinese painting does not liein cubic structures, nor in colours, but in use of the brush and ink.

　　If some quintessence of the theory on Chinese painting is usedto guide oil painting, masters may be made as a result. Such terseChinese sayings as “learn from nature and listen to your heart”, and“represent the subject with its vivid flavour and use your brush withvigour” have shown to us that Western and Eastern theories on paintingare the same at the core. It is a necessity to comprehend their essentialnon-exclusiveness; or they would be opposite to each other, and moreso when basic skills are cultivated or trained.

　　I agree that, during the development of art, it is the subject ofaesthetic appreciation and the meanings acquired in the process that playthe dominant role. The mission of art compels us to think: what is theperfect form to express a rich and meaningful content?

　　In the years following his graduation from college, with hisassiduous work, Xiuting answered the fundamental questions concerning“what and how to paint”. He managed to create a series of worksin which the relative balance between content and form was achieved.Among them are Mother and Son, Breeze, A Mid-Summer’s Dream andso on. As a matter of fact, A Mid-Summer’s Dreamwas among the fifty-six works displayed at the overseas exhibition ofmodern Chinese oil paintings. These painting represent the highest levelof Chinese oil painting. On August 15, 1987, a report covering thisexhibition was printed in Guangming Daily, recording the comments onA Mid-Summer’s Dream by Indian artists and critics:“A Mid-Summer’s Dream by Sun Xiuting…is a masterpiecewhich expresses modern sentiments with ancient Chinese techniques andintegrates creative Eastern spirit and traditional Western art”.

　　As far as the mission of an excellent artistic work is concerned,it is inevitable to elevate the meaning and the artistic techniques for aparticular concept to the level of a macroscopic culture. I often thinkthat, if Xiuting kept ascending to greater heights with his paintings,his works and the spirits embodied will be sure to start a new eraof styles. If he incorporates personal character into the universality ofculture, the value of nationalization can be magnified in a joint effortwith other painters. I believe, he and I will contribute to the shapingof the future in the fields of Chinese and Western painting.

　　Xiuting did not learn how his works were revewed by the publicuntil several years later, when he was about to leave for the ArtAcademy of Western Germany and learn the real essence of WesternArt.

　　From the 1980s to the late 1990s, Xiuting’s works underwentthree significant changes in terms of aesthetic angles and representationtechniques. The first change was brought about by works like A Mid-Summer’s Night and Mother and Son, which embody the artist’sexploration in aestheticism and simple painting elements (such as colourand brushwork).

　　The second change was represented by The Distant Horizon andDestiny(P59、P57)In these works, the artist began to pay attentionto the meaning of human existence. Techniques became lessercomplementary devices and his use of colours turned “non-descriptive”.He gave up the skills he had developed and used over the precedingyears, devoted himself to some purpose, and attempted to pursue anoriginal form.

　　The third change took place when he studied abroad and began toexplore abstract painting. Like many other painters who attempted tobreak free of the restrictions imposed by form, he gave first priority tosubject, concept and breakthroughs in non-realistic techniques. Unlikeavant-garde artists obsessed with concepts, he still laid emphasis upon“painting effect”. The ambiguity, abstraction, and mysteriousnessof the pictures, on the on hand, revealed his state of obscurity anduncertainty, and one the other hand demonstrate his perception ofcolour, and more specifically, his perception of the abstract nature ofcolour. This is consistent with his pursuit of the beauty, rarity andharmony of colours. In order to change the approach of consciouscreation, his abstract paintings are created “subconsciously”, whichcomplied with his attempt to seek change in the angle of aestheticappreciation.

　　Xiuting’s paintings have never transcended the category of easelpaintings. His rich experience in art has enabled him to see thatpainting is not “infinitely evolutionary”. He has shifted his focusfrom the essence of painting art to the convergence of inspirations. Ourperceptions of art are also converging. I hope that the advent of thenew century may see a new restoration of his paintings in both contentand form. In my letter sent to him in March, 1999, I write,

　　“…the loss of criteria and difficulty is certain to result in chaos.This disorderly state will be seen in the next century (whether it willbe resolved remains unknown). It will be easier for painting to finda way to survive in China, which is destined by Chinese philosophy.Twenty years’ reform and opening up have introduced to China manyartistic schools. However, in retrospect, Chinese artists seem to havereaped nothing in this process. This may be attributed to the lack ofindividuality…One should achieve success in developing a personal style,in reflecting a specific ethnic style, and in producing world-class art.In other words, he should start a new school which cannot be emulatedor surpassed. All this should be based on his unique perception ofthings, which is built on the culture he is steeped in and the naturalperception with which he is born. The role of geniuses should berecognized…”

　　The oil paintings created by Xiuting in the new century show hisin-depth exploration and assimilation of traditional European paintingtechniques. In museums in Europe and America, he imitated manyoriginal works by impressionist masters like Degas 、Renoir and createdpaintings with a similar style. Through portraits and indoor scenes,he digested the techniques of the masters while striving to preservethe flavour of European classical paintings. His representative workscreated in this period include Memory behind the Glass Window, In theMuseum, Green House and so on .

　　While mastering the impressionist techniques, he began to createoil paintings characterised by freehand brushwork typical of Chinesepainting. This marked the advent of his personal style. In the spring of2005, Xiuting’s oil painting, Antique Charm, appeared at an exhibitionof works by the Salon Independent in Paris  .

　　If you compare Antique Charm with A Middle Summer’s Dreamcreated a dozen years ago, you may find something in common: freehandbrushwork. Xiuting speaks his language with brushwork. Brushwork is notthe purpose itself but rather part of the process of creation. He has graduallyintroduced to the European audience a different perspective from a Chineseartist. It had a specific significance for the Antique Charm to be exhibitedin the Salon of Independent Artists established by the post-impressionistartists Seurat and Signac.

　　When Xiuting’s painting, Chui Wan, a Chinese Folk Sport, wasdisplayed at the 2008 Beijing International Art Biennale , the styleof his paintings characterized by the freehand brushwork that is typical ofChinese classical painting, came to take shape. It reflect the present timesthrough the incorporation of some surreal images. During this period, Xiutingcreated many paintings, including Untainted Beauty, Night Banquet, Riverand Mountains, Chui Wan, A Chinese Folk Sport, Against the Wind andso forth. Here, I would like to give a special interpretation of Xiao Hong IsHumming While I Am Playing the Qin .

　　The subject is borrowed from Ren Bonian’s work of the sametitle. The painting exhibits the seemingly causal brush strokes that arecharacteristic of Xiuting’s abstract paintings. This technique is not unlikethat employed by Chinese painters to create water and ink landscapepaintings. All the strokes are made out of the artist’s memory ofhis observation of nature. The two human images are the result ofimprovisation amongst the flourishing colours. The whole compositionof this painting cannot be accomplished by means of sketching. Similarbrushwork can be found in Night Banquet, which is characterized byrandomized colours. This is an impromptu painting technique. Thanks toits spontaneity, it can record the most fleeting feelings. Like the signsof ink left on Chinese calligraphic works, the brushwork is the artist’ssubconscious expression of years of experience.

　　Here, brushwork, form and colours integrate to convey the beautyof form, which is part of content, just like Chinese brush and ink hasits own effect. In order to achieve this effect, an artist needs to adoptthe approach of “painting without observing and observing withoutpainting”. In this approach lies a balance: the balance between human’sinner self and Nature.

　　When I speak of “oil paintings characterised by freehand brushworktypical of Chinese classical painting”, the word “classical” refersto the subject and the effect while the word “freehand” means thetechnique of colours and brushstrokes. In Chinese culture, contentalways blends with form. In terms of the compatibility of content andform, painting is just like poetry.

　　It delights me to see that Xiuting has not neglected the source ofthe vitality of art—sketches of Nature. In this collection of his works,we can see his recent sketches. The most significant of these are pastelpaintings like Rehearsal, Spring Festival show The Fifth Exhibition Hallof Beijing International Art Biennale, Painting Studio of Beijing NormalUniversity and so forth.

　　Nature, tradition, and the artist’s temperament collaborate tomaintain a kind of serenity typical of Chinese tradition.

　　At the end of 2008, I left a line in the guestbook before leavingthe exhibition of Xiuting’s works. This is a title of one of my essaysand is also our constant pursuit:

　　“Balancing and integrating Chinese and Western art”.This is a topic on which discussion can never end. Here I writeit down at the end of this essay, because it not only serves as ourcommon mission, but also testifies the camaraderie between Xiuting andme.

He Jiaying

March 1, 2009 Beijing