Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting In Development

With the "Ju Brothers" in Lingnan Area(South of the Nanling Mountains in Southern China)as the major research subject,this research topic attempts to put them in the whole development track of Mogu(coloured strokes without contour lines)Bird-and-flower Painting,traces their influences and meanings on the development of Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting and explores their revelations on the modern creation of Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting.Taking the "Ju Brothers" as the dividing line,this paper maintains that before "Ju Brothers" the expression form of Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting was within the range of the concept of traditional Mogu painting while after"Ju Brothers",the Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting are the major expression form of modern Mogu painting.Revolving around this idea,the author attempts to explore the following matters.First,it clearly defines the "Ju Brothers" and the "Mogu",with "Mo" meaning "no"or "weakening" while "gu" referring to the plain line-drawing for the contour of the modelling or the "colour line" of the water-colour mixture.Then,it systematically sorts out the evolution and development of the expression forms of Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting,which is generally summarised as "Concave and Convex Method"-"Mogu Flower"-"Mogu in Writing"-"Mogu Combining Freehand and Fine Brushwork";After that,it expounds on the art and aesthetics of the Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting of "Ju Brothers" and summarises its distinctive aesthetic features.Lastly,it explores several reasons for the Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting of "Ju Brothers" in initiating modern Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting and gives a comparative explanation with several case studies of modern Mogu Bird-and-flower painters.In the research process,this research topic is the first argumentation on that the earliest expression form of Mogu element dates back to the petrogram in the remote ancient times when the silhouette-type flat painting effect was the earliest "Mogu elements".It also objectively evaluates on the plain line-drawing of "Ju Brothers"which were insufficiently researched by the predecessors and reveals its influences on the forming of the fresh moistening painting style.After that,this paper,using the application of "water" in the "technique of adding water and adding powder" of "Ju Brothers" as the breakthrough point and from the perspective of techniques,argues that the expression form of the Mogu Bird-and-flower Paintings of "Ju Brothers" initiated modern Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting.Then comes the conclusion:the development of Mogu painting,especially the Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting,started in the ancient times,yet existing in different expression forms of painting,like the "Mogu" elements looming over the primitive petrogram.The Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting of "Ju Brothers" indicates the emergence of new Mogu painting forms,signalling the start of modern Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting.First,on the painting language,they have weakened the status of"brush and ink" in traditional paintings and brought the application of "water" in the"water mixture and powder mixture" to a new height;Then,the rich texture effect brought up by the "water" has become an important aesthetic element in modern Mogu paintings.As a breakthrough inheriting the traditional Mogu Bird-and-flower painting,the Mogu Bird-and-flower Painting of "Ju Brothers" bears great revelations and meanings to the modern Mogu bird-and-flower painting creation.