Hengshui Interior Painting

Hengshui Interior Painting

Hengshui, a county in Hebei Province, is known as the home of interior painting, an art form that is very special to China. With a special 90-degree-angle paintbrush used to paint inside glass or crystal objects, such artists can achieve exquisitely unique paintings. As a result of its superlative craftsmanship, interior painting has been praised as a peculiar and magnificent treasure for collectors.

Ⅰ. Origin
China's interior paintings originated from artwork inside snuff bottles. During the Jiaqing Period of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) -- 400 years after the introduction of snuff tobacco to China, the art of interior painting followed. After many years of exploration and development, the artworks were expanded to include interior-painted furnishings, perfume bottles, wine utensils, beads and lighters.

In the early stages of interior bottle painting, since there were no transparent glass bottles and the inside walls were very sleek, only a few simple pictures could be painted, such as grasshoppers, cabbages, phoenixes and simple landscapes. Later on, craftsmen learned how to fill the bottle with water, iron sand and emery, making the inside walls like Xuan paper -- delicate but not sleek. As a result, artists could paint the insides of bottles with great detail, and snuff bottles were later developed into a kind of artwork featuring a combination of poetry and painting.

Ⅱ. Techniques

Interior paintings of various shapes and patterns were made of glass, crystal or agate through carving and grinding. Using a special paintbrush, artists paint the inside of a bottle through a narrow mouth, incorporating the entire process of composition, delineation, wrinkle-removal and coloring. Unlike traditional painting techniques where the artist begins with the background and moves outwards, the interior-painting artist must paint the foreground first. Such talented artists must study for many years to become masters.

Ⅲ. Contents

Interior painting subjects range from flowers and birds, to clouds and waterfalls, to historical figures and stories.

The most interesting characteristic of Chinese art is the implication of its paintings. The themes usually come from Chinese folk legends, historical stories, religion and philosophy (Confucianism, Taoism and Chinese Buddhism). The painted subjects are not purely decorative: Usually they indicate good wishes and people's expectations for good fortune and happiness, justice, good crops, health and longevity.

With its special artistic charms, interior painting is now attracting thousands of people from home and abroad, becoming a top collector's choice.