The artistic language of Guan Weixing’s portrait watercolor: tradition and innovation

This article examines the portrait watercolors of Guan Weixing, a prominent representative of contemporary Chinese painting and President of the China Artists Association. His works are held in museums and galleries worldwide; however, his oeuvre has remained on the periphery of interest for both Russian and foreign art historians to date. In this regard, the present study possesses high relevance and scientific novelty, contributing to a deeper understanding of Guan Weixing’s artistic method. The author focuses primarily on the artist’s innovations in watercolor technique within a historical retrospective, analyzing key works created by the Chinese master during the 1980s–1990s from the perspectives of composition, figurative structure, coloristic solutions, and plastic treatment. It is demonstrated that Guan Weix-ing achieved a particular depth in his artistic expression, where technical means do not obscure the fundamental imaginative and ideological-spiritual content of his pieces, which are rooted in national heritage. In conclusion, the significance of Guan Weixing as a reformer of Chinese watercolor painting is emphasized. He managed to elevate the medium to a new status, transforming it from an applied or marginal genre into an equal form of “major” art (major genre) capable of solving large-scale creative tasks.

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