Unleashing the brush: The effect of theory on brushstroke in Northern Song literati and Abstract Expressionist painting

Both the scholar-amateur painting of the literati, developed in China during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), and the Abstract Expressionist painters of post-war America initiated an innovative aesthetic approach to painting whose hallmark was self-expression. Although from dissimilar social strata, these painters formed an intellectual elite group who, while disengaging from the prevailing dogma of their time, arrived at a brushwork style that was animated and individualistic, meant to convey not only the spirit and life force of the natural world, but also to express the innate and unique response of the artist's individual character. This similar approach to style and theory reflects the powerful effect of the cerebral arts of philosophy, art theory and criticism on the art production of the individual, in the context of socioeconomic-political culture and history. The study makes use of primary and secondary sources and art reproductions in chapters on art history, theory and criticism in Song Dynasty China and twentieth-century America. Parallels are drawn between art style and theory, in particular that of the Northern Song literati painting and Abstract Expressionism.