Anke Kausch, Individualists and Eccentrics – Chinese Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, March 23, 2015
During the lecture Anke Kausch said there were three types of paintings in the National Gallery Collection: Meticulous paintings, Landscaping paintings and Ink paintings. Some of the ink paintings were actually done with hands and nails instead of brushes. The paintings included some from the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Material used in the Ming dynasty was mostly silk while in the Qing Dynasty mostly paper. Chinese landscapes, unlike western ones, do not depict actual scenes. They are more symbolic and rely on the imagination. One of the large hand scrolls depicts the scenery of the four seasons. It is too large to hang or display so it is kept in a case and taken out for a few hours at a time to discuss with friends over tea. The Four treasures of the study are brush , ink, paper and ink stone. (Four Treasures of the Study (文房四宝 wén fáng sì bǎo) is an expression used to refer to the ink brush, inkstick, paper and inkstone used in Chinese calligraphy and painting. The name stems from the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties 420-589 AD).
You may also be interested in the recent TVO three part series on the Art of China