Expressions of Brush and Ink: Literati and Chan (Zen) Painting of China and Japan July 14, 2010

Choice of materials has fundamentally determined the aesthetic qualities of Chinese and Japanese painting. The traces left by the brush loaded with black ink used to form the image -- brushwork -- were the paramount criterion by which the quality of a painting was judged and by which styles were defined. These painters promoted the revolutionary concept that painting was not merely representation but, more importantly, an expression of the artist's character, and that brushwork was the vehicle for this self-expression.