油画从西方传入中国只有一百多年的光景,如今已经是比肩中国传统绘画的艺术形式。初期传入中国的欧洲古典油画，展现出物象精细逼真的造型功能和绚丽的色彩效果，使习惯于中国传统绘画形式的文人对面貌迥异的新艺术感到新鲜、惊奇，但由于西方古典油画在精神实质上与中国传统绘画差异很大，故而，当时对油画的结论是“虽工亦匠品不高”。随着国民在文化上的自信与优越感渐渐消没，油画在历经艰难跋涉之后，逐渐在新中国美术史中担任了重要角色。在一段时间内写实绘画更多地发挥其作为宣传工具社会功用，如记录重大历史事件和社会事件等。这一时期，尽管有诸多观念束缚，但中国的油画家潜心钻研，绘画技法日益精进，涌现出了一大批优秀画家和优秀作品。

　　近二三十年，中国经济进一步发展，更多的油画家有机会走出国门，到欧洲观摩、学习大师原作。同时现代艺术潮流纷纷涌入，多元化的意识深入人心，艺术观念与实践开始与世界接轨，尝试并努力同世界潮流同步发展。在西方延续了近千年的油画艺术类型，在中国近百年的时间内特别是近30年却从形式上已经基本都被涉猎了：古典主义、浪漫主义、现实主义、象征主义以及各种各样的现代形式，如表现主义、抽象主义、波普艺术、后现代主义等，它们在中国的文化土壤中都有自己的移植形态和代表作品。

　　在现代艺术思潮中，写实绘画曾一度陷入低谷，“架上绘画消亡”论调让人迷惑失落。但是，写实绘画在中国有着强大的生命力，它以自身的艺术使命和艺术魅力赢得了广泛的受众，时至今日，写实主义仍然是中国油画艺术的主流。

　　当然，写实绘画在技术语言和主题风格上并不是一成不变的。一大批优秀的艺术家努力探索创作的方向，有的画家执着于古典油画技法，结合自身的特点去尝试表现中国当代人物风貌；有的着力于从民间艺术和地方风俗中汲取营养以充实个人的创作；也有的致力于尝试现代造型手法，运用西方现代主义的创作手法来反映当代中国社会的现象，寻求在作品中体现某种现代哲理等等。各种艺术表现、风格语言在探索道路上的成败得失经验，对油画艺术的发展都有着积极的推动意义。

　　董百川在海外游学多年，有机会直接面对欧洲艺术大师的真迹，感受西方古典油画技法的艺术力量，这些使得他的绘画创作理念和技术手段得以提升，而对西方文化的体悟又反过来促使他对中国传统文化进行重新认识。董百川深受中国传统文化及儒家思想的影响，对于绘画意境的追求、内在含蓄美的追求胜过单纯对事物本身的描绘。他关注油画本体语言，以科学和理性思考的态度对待油画，尝试本土语言的现代转换，使作品凸显出独到的东方智慧和表现形式，从而建立起自己日渐成熟的绘画风格。

　　董百川将最具中国传统文化代表意义的书法引入画面，《九成宫醴泉铭》、《玄秘塔碑》，这些中国书法的代表作品成为他的《传承•碑帖》系列作品的背景,这一背景具有中国传统绘画趋于静态的表现倾向，从而将作品的主调定位于静谧与祥和。在此，书法作为一种符号完成了抒情达意的目的，它传达给观者深远平静的韵味。它看似是具体的、平面的、真实可触的，但事实上它却巧妙地虚化了背景，而留给观众无穷的、虚幻的想象空间。与此同时董百川运用各种动态的笔触来表现被描绘的对象，从细节入手，整体关照，通过色彩关系造型安排、传递出自身的情绪。这一静一动的结合产生了一种形式与内涵的错位，带来的却是新奇的体验和令人赏心悦目的美感。

　　董百川在绘画形式上的探索是可贵的、有益的。他以中为体、以西为用，齐白石曾经说过“太似媚俗，不似欺世，妙在似与不似之间”，这是中国传统的艺术观，并且是艺术家的艺术追求境界，期望他在艺术的道路上达到更高的境界。

清华大学美术学院教授绘画系主任　郑艺

The valuable and beneficial exploration

——Reading of Dong Baichuan’s oil paintings

　　There are only more than 100 years for the oil paintings being introduced into China from the west, at present it has become an artistic form shoulder to shoulder with the traditional Chinese paintings. The European classical oil paints introduced into China at earlier stage, have exhibited the modeling function of meticulous and vivid images and gorgeous color effects, making the scholars accustomed to the traditional Chinese painting forms feel fresh and surprised when facing the new arts of widely different features, but since there are great differences between the western classical oil paintings and traditional Chinese paintings in terms of spiritual essence, thus, the conclusions for oil paintings at that time were “though a kind of work, having less artisan quality”. With the gradual vanishing of the kind of cultural self-confidence and superiority complex, after the oil paintings have gone through the hard trudge, they have been gradually playing an important role in the art history of the new China. Within a certain period of time, the realistic paintings have more exerted their social functions as the popularization means, such as the recording of major historical events and social events etc.. During the period, though there are many restrictions in concept, Chinese oil painters have been studying intensively with great concentration, the painting techniques have been elaborated increasingly, with the emergence of a large number of excellent painters and excellent works.

　　Over the past two and three decades, China’s economy has been further developed, more oil painters have the chance to go abroad, observing in Europe, learning from the original works of the masters. At the same time, the contemporary artistic trends have poured successively, the diversified consciousness enjoy popular support, the artistic concept and practice have started being integrated with the world, attempting to have synchronous development with the world’s trend. For the artistic type of oil painting lasting for nearly a thousand years in the west, within nearly 100 years in China, they have all been dabbled in basically from the forms：classicism, romanticism, realism, symbolism and different kinds of modern forms, such as the expressionism, abstractionism , pop art, post-modernism etc., they all have their own transplanting forms and representative works in China’s cultural soil.

　　In modern artistic climate, the realistic painting once fell into a low ebb ，the view of “easel painting perishing” had made people feel confused and lost. But , the realistic painting has great vitality in China, it has won the extensive audiences with its own artistic mission and artistic charm, up to this day, the realism is still the main stream of Chinese oil painting art.

　　Certainly, the realistic painting is not changeless in terms of the technical language and theme style. A large number of excellent artists are making efforts to explore the creative orientation, some painters are dedicated to classical oil painting techniques, trying to express the style and features of contemporary Chinese characters in combination with their own characteristics;some are focusing on the drawing of nutrition and the enriching of personal creation from the folk art and local customs; some are devoting themselves to the attempting of modern modeling techniques, reflecting the contemporary China’s social phenomenon with the exertion of western creative techniques of modernism，seeking the reflection of certain kind of modern philosophy in the works etc.. The experiences concerning the success and failure, gain and loss on the exploring way of different artistic expressions, styles and languages, shall have a positive significance for the development of oil painting art.

　　Dong Baichuan has been studying abroad for many years, with the chance to directly face the authentic work of European artistic masters, feeling the artistic power of western classic oil painting techniques, making his creative concept and technical means improved. And the understanding of western culture has urged him to re-understand the traditional Chinese culture. Dong Baichuan has been deeply affected by the Confucianism of traditional Chinese culture, the pursuit of artistic conception of the painting and emphasis on the inherent beauty are better than the description of things themselves. He pays attention to the oil painting language of thing-in-itself，treating the oil painting with the attitudes of science and the rational thinking, attempting the modern conversion of native language, making his works highlight the unique oriental wisdom and pattern of manifestation, thus establishing his own increasingly mature painting style.

　　Dong Baichuan has introduced the handwriting with the most representative significance of traditional Chinese culture into the picture. , ，these representative works of Chinese calligraphies have become the background of his series of works, the background has the manifestation tendency of traditional Chinese paintings tending to be static. Calligraphy has carried the purpose of expressing one’s emotion and conveying one’s ideas as a kind of sign, it has passed on a far-reaching lingering charm to the picture. It seems to be concrete, plane, real and accessible, but in fact it has cleverly blurred the background, leaving the audiences with infinite , illusory imaginary space. In the meanwhile, Dong Baichuan has exerted all kinds of dynamic brush strokes to represent the depicted object, starting with details, with overall care, by means of the color relationship and modeling arrangement , passing on the emotion of oneself. The static and dynamic combination has produced a kind of dislocation between the form and connotation, however bringing about the fresh experience and sense of beauty pleasant to eyes.

　　Dong Baichuan’s exploration in the painting form is valuable and beneficial. He has taken the Chinese learning as the fundamental structure, and western learning for practical use，Qi baishi once said “so like a kitsch, not a fraud, wonderful between the like and unlike”，this is the artistic view of Chinese tradition, and the artistic state pursued by artists, hopefully he shall reach a higher realm in his artistic road.

作者：郑艺