How to get out of the dilemma of contemporary literati painting

How to get out of the dilemma of contemporary literati paintings

Art history is accustomed to dividing ancient Chinese paintings into courtyard paintings, literati paintings, and craftsman paintings. However, if we look into it seriously, most of the literati paintings among them are pseudo "literati paintings" and are essentially "painter paintings" - the works of professional painters. Pseudo "literati painting" is like a bamboo shoot in the mountains, with a thick cocoon of art on the outside. Only after peeling off the layers can you see the heart of the market and the heart of utilitarianism beating inside.

True literati painting excludes the market because it is subjective and self-nature, not objective and other-nature. Literati painting is about "artistic enjoyment" under the dual spiritual and material wealth, rather than for survival. Literati painting is a non-utilitarian pastime and game, while artist painting is labor performed to earn money.

Literati paintings are beyond our reach

Literati paintings are actually paintings by scholars. Su Shi said: "Looking at the paintings of scholars is like reading the horses in the world, and taking what they feel. But if you are a painter, you often only use the whip and the fur in the trough, without any handsome hair, and you will get tired after looking at it for a few feet. A true scholar of Han Dynasty Painting is about people."

Painting is the reflection of people's overall mental outlook on the screen. There is a poetry and calligraphy spirit in his belly. This spirit is not only reflected in his demeanor and demeanor, but also reflected in his works and articles. It is said that the writing is like the person and the words are like the person.

Literati painting is done in a flash, with talents from heaven, rather than the ingenuity of "looking for chapters and excerpting sentences". As Huang Tingjian said in the postscript of Su Shi's "Han Shi Tie": "If we try to restore Dongpo, it may not be as good as this." This is the realm of literati painting. The value of literati painting lies in the occasional acquisition of skillful hands, and its highest state is "playing". Playing is careless and indispensable, as long as you are happy. It is the afternoon black tea for rich girls, not the porridge for ordinary people where people can be seen.

From the perspective of Chinese history, true literati paintings should include several conditions.

The first is family background, whether he is a scholar or a "scholar". He must be a scholar or a Confucian scholar, have a Zen sense of understanding of worldly affairs, and must have the necessary pen and ink skills, not calligraphy skills. It is practice that makes perfect, not dexterity or craftsmanship. Dong Qichang said: "Qiyun cannot be learned. You know it in this life, and it is naturally given by heaven. However, there is also a way to learn it. Read thousands of books, travel thousands of miles, get rid of the dust in your chest, naturally camp in the hills and ravines, set up your jaw, and write it casually. , are all about landscapes and rivers conveying the spirit of the gods." Modern art historians often interpret the "reading thousands of books" as learning the techniques of the predecessors, which is obviously far-fetched. Without the effort to read tens of thousands of books, without the mind of a genius, without the experience of understanding life, without the ingenuity and thought without writing, it is difficult to become a scholar. These elements cannot be imitated by painters who specialize in painting.

The second is experience, whether you have experienced officialdom or the ruling class, from top to bottom, and gained spiritual and material freedom. In ancient China, reading was the shortcut to progress in life, and it also provided solutions to all life problems. As the saying goes, "The book has its own beauty like jade, and the book has its own golden house." Also because of reading, one can realize the phoenix nirvana of "Being the Heavenly Master in the morning and ascending to the Emperor's Hall in the evening". "Excellence in learning will lead to officialdom." With fame and fortune, you can command and command spiritually, and be well clothed and well-fed materially. Only then can you have spare money, free time, and free time to play with pen and ink, and only then can true literati paintings appear.

The third is motivation, whether painting is for recreation or for sale. Genuine literati calligraphy and painting rarely enter the market because of the small output. "Lu Zhi joked with Dongpo and said: 'In the past, King Youjun's calligraphy was the book of exchange for geese. Han Zong was a Confucian scholar. Every time he got a public post, he promised to exchange ten kilograms of mutton from the palace commander Yao Lin. It can be called the book of exchange for sheep.' Po Laughing. One day, the Duke was in Hanyuan, and he wrote a lot of articles about the saints. Zongru wrote several slips every day, and sent pictures and reports. !'" Han Zongru, a foodie, exchanged Su Dongpo's note for mutton. When Su Gong found out, he deliberately teased him and refused to reply to his boring note, telling him that no sheep would be killed today! This Dongpo anecdote actually reflected It turns out that true literati's calligraphy and painting are random and hard to come by. Once there is market demand, it really can’t be controlled. After all, these literati and officials are not assistants or painters.

The fourth is skill, whether it is amateur or professional. Qian Xuan and Zhao Mengfu once discussed the issue of "expert painting" and "violent artist painting". Zhang Duanyi, a native of the Song Dynasty, once said: "Literati and talented people cannot see themselves, and those who are unknown are mixed in. In the past thirty years, the field of Ci has been declining, and neither system can be practiced. The Beijing proverb goes like this, "the ruthless family".

Zhan Jingfeng of the Ming Dynasty also wrote this in a postscript in 1594: "There are two schools of landscape, one is the Yi Jia, and the other is the writer, also called the expert and the Li Jia." "According to Qi Gong's textual research: "Today's people regard technical matters as "experts" or "experts" who have learned from teachers, have specialized professions, and are proficient in skills. On the contrary, it is called "layman", or "Liba". In ancient times, it was called "Rule family" (Rule or Li, Li, Li). ”

The authors of literati paintings do not pay attention to famous teachers producing great disciples, but rather emphasize that “external teachers create good fortune and get the source of the heart.” Su Shi said: “When talking about painting, it is similar to children. ...The poems and paintings are all the same, heavenly and fresh. ..." He also said, "Although Wu Sheng is wonderful, he still relies on his painting skills. "Mojie obtained it from the outside of the image, just like the immortal Ge Xie Longfan". Su Shi's point of view obviously attaches great importance to the natural expression of the author's heart, rather than pursuing the appearance or even deliberately doing it. This is obviously to distinguish the painter. Paintings and literati paintings. However, when later generations discussed literati paintings, they mostly focused on their subject matter and brushwork, and ignored the meaning of self-expression in literati paintings.

The fifth is emotion, whether it is the expression of true feelings or the expression of sadness in order to compose new words. Literati painting is what Dong Qichang calls "splashing ink whenever the mood strikes." Ni Yunlin, a representative figure in literati painting, has a painting theory: "Yu Zhizhu." How can we compare the similarity and difference, the number and sparseness of leaves, the slant and straightness of branches when we write about the air in our chests? If you leave it on for a long time, others will regard hemp as reed, and your servants will not be able to argue that it is bamboo. It is really difficult to read. What? "What permeates it is carelessness and helplessness. I know you can't understand, but I'm too lazy to tell you! It's far from what a painter who relies on the market and makes a living by selling paintings can understand.

The key to literati painting is fame, not art. Zhang Yanyuan in the Tang Dynasty once criticized people for looking at paintings as "noticing people but not paying attention". In fact, painting is not the purpose, but fame is the core of a painting. , or anonymous, will not sell for a good price. As long as the painting is sloppy, the market price will be determined, and the quality of the famous artist will create a peak price for many people. It is said that what you buy is not the painting, but the reputation.

Of course, not just anyone’s graffiti can become a literati painting. The highest level of literati painting is to be good at it. There should be no preference between the two. The so-called person who has the heart is the one who has the source of the heart; the person who is good at it has the right technique. Just like the thoughts in the heart, but they cannot be conveyed in the pen, or lack of beauty, it is still not a good literati painting. It is a wonderful combination of artistic literacy that conforms to the law. It is an artistic style with Confucianism as the body and painting as the application. It is very rare that it can truly achieve this state.

So, we realize that literati painting exists. Internal antinomy. As scholar-bureaucrats, they cannot have too much energy for painting creation, let alone too much time to practice techniques. Dong Qichang once said proudly: "The Book of Pictures records that those who can paint are the best." In the Song Dynasty, there was Yansu, and in the Yuan Dynasty, there was Gao Kegong. In this dynasty, I was with Dingzu. If Song Di and Zhao Mengfu are the prime ministers, they will be the most distinguished and powerful ones. "Therefore, scholar-officials like Su Shi, Zhao Mengfu, and Dong Qichang who can paint are really rare. Most of the graffiti works of scholar-officials are difficult to spread because they lack the necessary techniques. Therefore, the status of scholar-officials and artistic attainments that are necessary for literati painting This is a genetic defect. Just like the white tiger, true literati painting is a beautiful mutation that is rare.

Under such circumstances, literati painting is almost impossible to find. It is a false proposition. It is like a utopian lantern, hanging high in the sky of Chinese art history, making people look at the plum blossoms to quench their thirst. Rather than saying that it is a type of painting, it is the banner of the art trend after the Song Dynasty and the theorist's response. Description of the best paintings. With the changes in the education system, the true literati paintings have disappeared on the eastern horizon, leaving only the blurred backs.

The paintings of the painters are actually "expert paintings"

Dong Qichang once made a clear distinction between literati paintings and painters' paintings from the perspective of calligraphy. "When scholars paint, they should use the method of cursive and strange characters: trees are like bent iron, mountains are like painted sand, and there is no sweetness or vulgarity." The path is for morale. No, even if you pass the test, you have fallen into the devil's realm of painters and are no longer hopeless." Literati were ashamed to be painters, such as Yan Liben. According to the "Old Tang Book·Yan Liben Biography" records: "Taizong once went boating with his courtiers and scholars on the In Spring Garden, there are strange birds in the pond, following the waves. Taizong rewarded him, and those who counted the imperial edicts chanted them, and summoned him to write this order. At that time, there was a call outside the pavilion: "Painter Yan Liben."

’ At that time, he was already one of the Lord’s doctors, sweating from running around, lying on the side of the pool, waving pill powder in his hand, looking at the guests, feeling extremely ashamed. He admonished his son and said: "My young man likes to study, but he is lucky enough to face a wall. He is deeply involved in love and is quite like his peers." I only know it from the perspective of painting, and it is humiliating to serve as a servant! You should be warned not to practice this trick. '" Yan Liben is obviously good at painting, but is ashamed of painting. Yan Liben's entanglement actually reflects the contempt for skills in ancient China. Scholars and officials can recite poems and compose poems, but regard painting as a craftsman's profession.

For the same reason, although later generations of painters made a living by selling paintings, they were willing to label themselves as literati, but they did not need to read too many books because of their interest or livelihood, and they studied painting seriously just to paint better. , attracted people's attention because of their paintings, and even became the darlings of the market. For them, painting is a means, not a casual graffiti. At the same time, consumers also have two purposes for buying paintings. One is to create auspiciousness. The second is to create a festive home that is elegant and creates a cultural atmosphere. The former, such as the "Mutian Music" of the Song Dynasty and the watermark New Year paintings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, often correspond to the spiritual needs of the lower class people, who have low income and little education, so they can only spend a small amount of money. Buy some printed materials to pray for the new year. The latter corresponds to middle-class or wealthy families. People think that "if there are no calligraphy and paintings in front of the hall, it is not an old family." "Since they are scholars, their cultural needs are relatively elegant, and their tastes are more inclined to the literati class. They look down on vulgar New Year paintings, and what they need are literati paintings that convey the humanistic spirit of literati. However, real literati are not It is difficult for ordinary people who do not make a career out of painting, so they can only settle for the second best and obtain the works of painters with the interest of literati paintings. This demand is the fundamental driving force for the works of painters to serve as literati paintings.

Mingwen Zhengming Huxi Thatched Cottage Picture Scroll

Compared with literati paintings, painters' paintings have the following characteristics:

1. The poetic skills of professional painters are often not as good as those of scholar-bureaucrats. However, they took the ancient poems borrowed from the Confucian scholars as examples, and most of the poems they wrote were limericks, with few fine poems. According to Marx's political economics theory, commodity producers obtain value by transferring use value. Realize. Anyway, it is used to exchange money. As long as it does not affect the transaction or reputation, there is no need to pay attention to the painting poems of later generations of painters, just like a kind of polite perfunctory by prostitutes to their clients. If you really want to find some true temperament in it, it is simply a waste of time. Therefore, from a metrical point of view, most of the poems on paintings are useless because they are close to the market and the painter's mood, and they are occasionally a little rash. The vernacular of sex. In this regard, it is still interesting.

The author has seen a note by Wu Changshuo with dozens of inscribed poems on it. There is an inscription on the back: "Tuo Mo Geng." "Painting". It should be a poem about the painting that Wu Changshuo asked Ni Tian to paint on his behalf. Ni Tian, ​​courtesy name Mo Geng, was from Yangzhou. He was good at everything from figures and ladies to coloring flowers. He was one of the sixty famous painters in modern times. This is a small painting. The note provides us with evidence that Wu Changshuo asked someone to write it. Because there are no traces of alteration on the entire page, it is not a manuscript but a copy. As for this poem, the author suspects that it was written by someone else, just like in the kitchen. Just grab a handful of pre-cut ginger and green onions and throw them in when cooking. Wu Changshuo, who is already successful and busy with social activities and does not need to compose impromptu poems, would be fine if he even hired someone to do his painting work. It is even less possible for me to bother reciting poems and writing poems.

2. Calligraphy lacks a bookish style. Because calligraphy and painting have the same origin, literati painting also advocates the use of calligraphy in painting, and later painters often put a lot of effort into calligraphy. However, when practicing calligraphy, we often focus on form and underestimate content. Obtaining the form but losing the meaning is tantamount to buying a casket for a pearl. Professional calligraphers often practice calligraphy for the sake of practice. Few people read and write articles, and there are no scholar-bureaucrats. When we look at the ink drawings of famous officials and literary figures from past dynasties, we rarely see them showing off their skills, which is simple and simple, with nothing superfluous. Fancy. Their calligraphy is the externalization of their personal spirit. This spirit is full and calm, filled with the "awesome spirit" that Mencius called, which is extremely rare among professional calligraphers or painters.

3. Self-replication of pictures. Since professional painters make a living by selling paintings, and coupled with the strong market demand, they cannot innovate every piece. In fact, when painters face the texture of mountains every day, they don't feel much joy in their hearts. They are more worried because of unpaid literary debts, and there is nowhere to think about it.

To solve this problem, they had to mass-produce and even hire people to ghostwrite for themselves. Today, when we look at the works of those great painters with great market influence, such as Dong Qichang, Zheng Banqiao, Wu Changshuo, and Qi Baishi, we always have a feeling of deja vu, Yan Returns. In addition to their remarkable personal style, their self-replication is an important reason. The author once saw a set of Zhao Zhiqian's 12-page fruit and vegetable album collected by Xianyun Xiaozhu, but later I discovered that the Guangdong Provincial Museum has another set, which also has a wall calendar. The Shanghai Museum also has a set, which is on display all year round. Later, I discovered that the Tianjin Museum and the Palace Museum each had their own albums, both of which had published albums. These specious twins are not fakes, but the result of Zhao Zhiqian's mass "production" - I can no longer use the word "creation".

As for hiring ghostwriters, it is an unspoken rule in the industry. Although Dong Qichang personally made great contributions to the theory of literati painting, he himself was also exploring the laws of literati painting. However, he himself is deeply involved in the market. Many painting friends from the Songjiang School once helped him ghostwrite. Not only are these activities completely different from literati paintings, but they are also detrimental to personal ethics in terms of general creative rules.

4. The subject matter is kitsch and pyrotechnics. According to market demand, most of the themes of professional painters are closely related to citizens' lives. Both the Yangzhou School and the Shanghai School prefer flower-and-bird paintings, followed by figures, and then landscapes. The reason is that flower-bird paintings are more popular among the public. They use roses, magnolias, peonies, crabapples, chrysanthemums, cannas and other flowers and plants. As well as cabbage, radish, pumpkin, garlic, persimmon, flat peach, loquat and other themes with auspicious colors and rich flavor of life are included in the painting, reposing people's good wishes for peace, wealth and good luck. This situation seems to have begun in the Song Dynasty. Due to the rise of civil society, people no longer pursue the wild beauty of forests and springs, nor the ideal of seclusion expressed in landscape paintings. They yearn for the improvement and satisfaction of real life, and hope that the paintings displayed at home can express auspicious connotations. This idea even influenced early Feng Shui. People believed that hanging paintings of different themes in the home could adjust the yin and yang and luck in the home. Although these paintings also pay attention to pen and ink, and have poetry, calligraphy, painting and seals, their soul is far from that of literati paintings. In the Song Dynasty, Li Tang once made a living by selling paintings, that is, he was a painter. Later, because of his proficient skills, he was recruited by the Xuanhe Painting Academy, which also valued techniques. His works are mostly landscapes, but they were not popular in the market after his journey to the south. Therefore, he once said in a poem about a painting: "In the clouds, in the mist, in the village, in the rain, it is easier to see than to make. I had known that I would not be in time." For human eyes, buy more rouge paintings of peonies."

5. The technique is too skillful and lacks the taste of crudeness. Professional painters are well-trained and tired of coping, so they make many works for fun. Therefore, among the large number of paintings, there are very few fine works. Sometimes they also indulge in pen and ink, but this is all to reduce the trouble of painting, which is not the same as the "sloppy brushwork" of literati paintings. At the same time, because I have mastered so many techniques of composition and pen and ink, I am so familiar with them that I appear slick. Everything starts with the pen, not the heart. As a result, the breath becomes frivolous and impetuous, losing its proper spiritual connotation.

Of course, when we separate painter's painting from literati painting, we do not belittle the achievements of painter's painting, but listing it as a separate item is also conducive to the history of Chinese art throughout ancient and modern times, forming a complete and unified narrative logic.

The three-level situation from literati painting to painter's painting

Zhang Yanyuan of the Tang Dynasty once said: "Since ancient times, those who are good at painting should not be robbed of noble clothes and elegant clothes. They can be brilliant for a while and spread their fragrance. "Thousands of sacrifices are not something that Lu Yan can do." This statement reflects the author's personal likes and dislikes. It is neither objective nor historical, and it is not a reason why literati paintings must be higher than other paintings. However, it makes us realize the huge impact of literati status on the character of painting.

Because society admires literati and literati paintings, literati paintings are the main product type on the market. The supply of real literati paintings exceeds the demand, so various products similar to literati paintings have appeared, and the authors are all professional painters. Both Qian Xuan and Zhao Mengfu clearly believed that the essence of literati painting was Lijia painting, that is, amateur painting by laymen. According to Cao Zhao's "Essentials of Gegu": "Zhao Zi'ang asked Qian Shunju: 'How is it a scholar's painting?' Shunju replied: 'It is also a painting of the Rong family.' Zi'ang said: 'Of course. I watched the Tang Dynasty. Wang Wei, Li Cheng, Guo Xi, and Li Boshi of the Song Dynasty were all painted by noble scholars, who were able to convey the spirit of the objects to the best of their ability. >In the final analysis, the difference between paintings by scholars and paintings by painters lies in whether they are true scholars.

It is impossible for the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, etc., as well as the professional painters in today's art academies, to paint literati paintings. Regardless of the dispute between Chinese and Western painting, even students who specialize in Chinese painting mostly do not read, or even read very little. Calligraphy is practiced for the sake of practicing calligraphy, and it is not a natural result of writing a large number of policy articles. Practice makes perfect. This kind of pure technique is far from the core of culture.

If we regard the transition from "literati painting" to "painter painting" as a gradual change, we can roughly divide it into three situations.

The first situation: "If we discuss the price of this painting, the remuneration will be thousands of rings." This poem by Wu Cheng in the Yuan Dynasty commented on Mi Youren's landscape paintings, which vividly illustrates the situation of real literati painters. . After Mi Youren became a famous artist, he was deeply appreciated by Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty and appraised his calligraphy and paintings. He lived a comfortable life and had a high status. He had the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties as a descendant of Wang Xie. After he became an official, he was very secretive. Even his relatives and friends had no chance to get the paintings. People laughed and said: "The interpretation is that it is a rootless tree, which can depict Meng Hongyun. Now he is serving the emperor, and he is not willing to share it with idle people." It is precisely because of this. In this way, his paintings became what Dong Qichang recognized as typical literati paintings. In this severe situation, it can be said that I do not sell paintings, but the market is very popular.

The second situation: "When I have free time, I will paint pictures of green mountains and sell them, so as not to make money in the world." Tang Yin talked about his life situation as a professional painter in the poem on the painting. Tang Yin is obviously a scholar and has won the title of Jieyuan. But later, his fate failed and he failed in the examination, so he became a professional painter who made a living by selling paintings. In terms of knowledge and breadth, Tang Yin is obviously higher than ordinary painters, at least his poetry is much higher than others. He also lacked criticism and insight into the secular world. What he lacked was just social status and economic security, so he had to sell his paintings to support himself. Most of his works are oriented to market demand. Therefore, when Dong Qichang mentioned the literati painters of the Ming Dynasty, he arbitrarily separated Wen and Shen from Tang and Qiu among the "Four Wu Schools", believing that the former were literati paintings. Qiu Ying was good at painting as a lacquer worker. He once visited the famous sites of past dynasties at Xiang Yuan's Bian family. He established himself as a courtyard painter. It is not surprising that he is not included in literati paintings. But Tang Yin is also excluded, obviously because Tang Yin cannot extricate himself in the market. In this severe situation, it can be said that when you are stretched thin, you can exchange pens for small coins.

The third situation: "It costs more to paint bamboo than to buy bamboo, and the price of paper six feet high is three thousand." In 1759, Zheng Banqiao ingeniously announced the "Brush List", which is the standard for brush polishing in calligraphy and painting. It was engraved on a stele and stood in front of the Western Temple in Yangzhou, and the discussion was heated for a while. But Zheng Banqiao went his own way, "going east, west, north, south," and he was able to navigate the art market with ease. Similar to him is Wang Mian. "I was too lazy to comb my hair in short clothes to welcome guests, and only asked for a high price for plum blossoms." Zen Master Pu'an in the late Yuan Dynasty described the Wang Mian he knew in "Song of Plum Blossoms". Wang Mian was obsessed with painting plum blossoms all his life and was unique in the world. Because of his great reputation, there were so many people asking for paintings that Wang Mian was simply too busy. Xu Wei in the Ming Dynasty was a loyal fan of Wang Mian. He imitated his behavior and also imitated his painting of plum blossoms for rice. When paying homage to Wang Mian's tomb, Xu Wei once said with emotion: "You painted plum blossoms in exchange for rice, and now I have plum blossoms in exchange for rice. An Neng can arouse the layman Wang, and smile at the Hua family and the Mi family." Xu Wei also sympathized with Wang Mian's hard life, Guess how many buckets of rice his painting of plum blossoms can be exchanged for: "I want to see Yuan Zhang worry about the rice day, but I don't know how many buckets of rice can be exchanged for ice branches." In this situation, he can be said to be a painting salesman who is familiar with business.

In a society dominated by Confucianism, the values ​​​​that a gentleman means righteousness and a villain means benefit are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even professional painters who make a living by selling paintings are unwilling to take on the responsibility of being polite and polite. They are used to dressing up as innocent girls and refusing to welcome others. Only people like Zheng Banqiao and Qi Baishi, who are proud of their talents and rely on their elders, dare to tear off all masks and disguises and face people's horrified eyes. However, in their eyes, others are not important, let alone other people's opinions?

These few famous painters who are highly sought after by the market, due to their financial affluence, some of them have also read a lot of books , so it also has some atmosphere of literati paintings. For example, Zheng Banqiao was born as a Jinshi and served as an official. He was a typical scholar-bureaucrat. Although his works had the habits of a painter, they still had the flavor of literati paintings.

Conclusion

In short, literati paintings are just like the jade axes of ancient times. They are just ritual objects and symbols of nobility. Because of the wide gulf between literati temperament and painting skills, it is even difficult for us to find enough samples to study the characteristics of literati paintings more deeply.

Literati paintings and painter’s paintings are two types of paintings that appear to be similar in appearance, but should not be confused.

Defining literati paintings and painters' paintings, firstly, can better restore the original appearance of literati paintings and avoid self-contradiction caused by unclear extension. Second, it is helpful to clarify the origin of Chinese art history. Dong Qichang said in "Essays on Painting the Zen Room·Painting Sources": "The painting of literati began with Wang Youcheng,...We Chao Wen and Shen Ze took over the mantle from afar." As a painter of the same dynasty, Dong Qichang believed that both Shen Zhou and Wen Zhengming followed. Both the teacher and the style can be regarded as literati paintings, but Tang Yin and Qiu Ying, who made a living by selling paintings, were excluded from the four Wu families although they belonged to the same family. This decomposition obviously makes sense. Third, it can be clarified that painter's painting is an important direction of art education, emphasizing sketching, techniques, and inheritance from teachers. In today's society, artists are inherently an admirable profession. The social and economic status of painters are very high, so there is no need to devote themselves to the name of literati. Returning literati paintings to the ancients and following their own path is the confidence and positioning that today's painters should have.