Please see below the answer of whose work is the best among
Vincent van Gogh, Qi Baishi, and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III
I have spent more than 60 years of my professional life in the field of painting. During the many decades of practice and experiences, I have come to know many famous painters. That is especially the case since I became the Head Consultant for authenticating paintings and calligraphy at the National Museum of China in Beijing. As an appraiser and authentication officer of paintings and calligraphy, the bulk of my work is to verify the authenticity of Eastern and Western paintings. I have reviewed tens of thousands of famous paintings, especially the rare and precious works of the maestro Vincent van Gogh of the Netherlands, and those of the champion of Eastern paintings, Qi Baishi of China.
Both Van Gogh and Qi Baishi were great world-renowned masters in art. One represented the apex of Western art and the other was a master of an extreme class in the field of Eastern paintings. Both artists had drawn from the essence of the classical traditions of their respective cultures. They created new styles of art and new ways of seeing the universe. They broke new grounds and became pioneers of new eras, each becoming a creative guru of his time, developing a distinct style of his own and leading new trends that inspired later generations. Their works reflect the different essences of the Eastern and Western traditions. To what extent can their works influence the artistic civilization of the world? What kind of artistry did they achieve that made them upright monuments in art history and admired by so many people?
Some art critics compared the works of Van Gogh and Qi Baishi to see which of them reached a higher level of accomplishment. They concluded that both have their own merit, both are undefeated champions in the art and both reached the pinnacle of artistry. Recently, some art critics also brought up the oil painting Sunflowers and the ink-wash painting Sunflowers, both created by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, and gave them rave reviews. They went on to compare the works by Vincent van Gogh and Qi Baishi with the works by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, trying to establish which of the three artists is the champion of the champions. The result of comparing the works by Van Gogh, Qi Baishi and H.H Dorje Chang Buddha III is tremendously inspiring.
Ever since the Renaissance, Western artists had placed emphases on rational analysis and the realist portrayal of forms. They used light, texture and details to present the realistic, three-dimensional perspective. A few centuries later, Van Gogh rejected the monotony of such use of light and shadow and the realistic portrayal of figures. He pioneered the movement of impressionism that suited him well by applying a mix of colorful, brilliant, splendid and vigorous brushstrokes. He became a great master of his time and his name was forever etched onto the monument of Western civilization and art.
Whenever people think of Van Gogh, they think of his unique character, the sparkles in his eyes that emit lightning, his vigor and his incessant pursuit of inspiration in art without any regard to external hardships. Van Gogh was an artist by birth. He was of exceptional confidence and was somewhat neurotic. Having such traits, he pursued the art that he loved without any reservation or hesitation. He loved his works and regarded everything else with disdain. He preferred to be a loner in the world and did not care to make acquaintance of other painters of his time. His works are full of luminous colors, the brushstrokes are like rising winds and racing clouds in the sky. In his art, he depicted pasture, figures, flowers and other subject matters with brisk colors. Every brushstroke was transformed from his inner emotions. Such emotions were fully and colorfully captured in his Self-Portrait as well as in the transcendental Sunflowers that he painted. These works contain an animated spirit that is deeply moving.
From Van Gogh’s artistic spirit and intent, we can detect that he was profoundly knowledgeable about Chinese ink-wash paintings. Precisely because of this, while depicting forms and applying colors, he employed the skills of using the center tip of the brush and parallel brushstrokes. His Still Life with Bible was created with parallel brushstrokes. In his Self-Portrait, he portrayed his face filled with lines and plaques that are extraordinary. It is not hard for us to discover that he drew inspirations from the substance and essence of Chinese painting in those brushstrokes. That is why Van Gogh is such a distinguished, unparalleled artist of his time and his works are superior to those by the other Western oil painters such as Cezanne, Gauguin or Picasso of the same era.
Van Gogh’s artistic style was closely linked not only to Chinese civilization in the East, but also to the classical Renaissance art, Pointillism, German Expressionism, and Impressionism in the West. Toward the end of his life, he came into oneness with the universe and immersed himself in a carefree state of mind to “follow wherever nature might lead.” As such, he was no longer aware of his own existence. In his mind, there was only the art and the universe. “Following where the nature may lead” is the essence of the ideology of the Chinese philosopher Laozi. Van Gogh cut off his ear with a knife. He lost himself completely in painting. That was his unspoken resentment and rejection of the unfair treatment imposed on him by the society.
Qi Baishi was profoundly knowledgeable about impressionist, fauvist, and realist paintings. By adopting the essence of Western painting and incorporating the traditional spirit of Eastern art, he developed his unique style and became the master of Chinese painting of the twentieth century. His brushstrokes were solid and poised, evincing a sense of power that went all the way through the paper. Using sheep-hair brushes, he elicited calligraphic skills to create his paintings. Qi Baishi’s lines are bold and robust, embodying a forceful spirit that can move mountains. At the same time, these lines are flexible, sturdy and round, with similar qualities to the lines of wire-drawing. His compositions emerged naturally from the spontaneous movement of the brushes. Such compositions are accompanied by vigorous calligraphy resembling the strength, power and fluidity of stone inscriptions.
The artistic concept of spontaneously “following where nature may lead” is precisely derived from Laozi’s philosophy and the artistic civilization of the Chinese ethnicity. Qi Baishi favored the use of white space in his paintings. The white space in black-and-white Chinese ink-wash paintings is considered a solid color. Ink can be differentiated in nine shades (or five shades according to ancient Chinese text.) That is to say, the white of the paper per se and the black of the ink are all considered as colors. There is a sense of meticulous precision in the artworks by Qi Baishi. He depicted insects such as grasshoppers, mantises and butterflies in meticulous and vividly colorful ways. In some of his artworks, the artist was able to express his ideas by putting down just a few brushstrokes without any conscious intent, while arriving at a state of oblivion of his own existence. Anything depicted by his brushes was vivid and vibrant, with the subject matter coming alive on the paper. There is an aura that moves our heart and soul. All in all, Qi Baishi’s paintings were executed with a confident brushwork that naturally achieved a kind of childlike charm.
Recently, some people compared the works by Van Gogh and Qi Baishi with the works by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III to see whose works are more superior and outstanding, or will have a broader and more far-reaching influence on later generations. I have viewed quite a lot of the artworks by Van Gogh, Qi Baishi and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. I started the study and appreciation of the paintings by Qi Baishi under the enlightening guidance of my teacher when I was 9, and when I was 14, I began to study and appreciate the works by Van Gogh. It has since been several decades!
At the same time, since I have admired the art of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III for a long time, to satisfy my desire and wishes I flew from New York to San Francisco to visit the International Art Museum of America, and to Los Angeles to visit the H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Cultural and Art Museum in order to see their collections. I was profoundly impressed by the architecture of both museums which is grand and dignified. Both museums have a collection of the authentic works by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III. There are various artworks that are created with different kinds of material. Some are bold and forthright, some are charmingly meticulous and astounding. The oeuvre is not made up of just one single style.
Yet, the only artwork that was not available for viewing is the Sunflowers painted by H.H Dorje Chang Buddha III. When I hear that some art critics are comparing the works by Van Gogh and Qi Baishi with the works by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, I naturally feel, from my experience of having studied the works by Van Gogh and Qi Baishi for a number of decades, that although their artistry are similar in levels, it is possible to say who is the best if we are just to compare the sunflowers painted by the three artists, when we include in the compositions, colors, brushwork, lines, vitality, spirit and so on. With all these elements in consideration, it is possible to do the comparison and conclude who painted the best, or in other words, whose works can bring the most joy and delight to people, or whose art will be most influential to the philosophy, artistic concept and entire civilization of this world.
Therefore, without any ambiguity, we concluded. In terms of character and morality, Van Gogh would be the last of the three. In terms of level of skills, Qi Baishi would also be ahead of Van Gogh, who is, however, already the cream of the crop in western civilization. Being the Buddha living in the current century, H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III saves living beings with great loving compassion. He is not embodied in an ordinary being. Needless to say, the level of cultivation of the Buddha is superior to that of Van Gogh and Qi Baishi. In terms of creativity and painting skills, how can any ordinary being even hold a candle to the Buddha? In this way, the comparison result is immediately determined.
When those art critics carried out the detailed research of the Sunflowers by Van Gogh and Qi Baishi as well as H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, they copied the artworks by all three artists. After copying the works by Van Gogh and Qi Baishi, they felt deeply that through hands-on practice, they indeed gained more understanding of their works. It would not be easy but not so difficult either for one to really reach their artistic level. As for the Sunflowers by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, they found it rather difficult to copy. Even though they tried many times, they had a hard time just copying the form, let alone the spirit.
The Sunflowers by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III clearly show the artist’s solid foundation and prolific skills in the Eastern and Western painting traditions. They comprise the essences in both traditions and display a brushwork, sentiment and colors that are one of a kind. The color tones and brushstrokes are rich, dense, soothing and elegant. Lively brushwork paints an animated charm that is whole, evincing a miraculous and expansive spirit and aura as well as a strong vitality. As for the Sunflowers oil painting in which H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III depicted some flowers inside a vase, the artistry is extraordinary and full of variations; the composition is simple yet abstruse. The flowers are natural and gracious, such that they give an impression of unpredictability, reaching a state of oneness with the universe and emanating a sharp animated spirit.
The ink-wash painting Sunflowers by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has an uninhibited, natural, and spontaneous brushwork that is dense, bold, and robust, but also elegant and agile. It exhibits a charm that is like stone and bronze inscriptions. Overall, the whole painting manifests a harmonious and moving imagery, naturally emanating a lively vivaciousness and a carefree, spirited aura.
In comparing the works by Van Gogh of the Western civilization, Qi Baishi of the Eastern culture, and H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, we can see the artists are distinguished in their unique own ways owing to their different cultures. However, only the artist who can continue to influence the world two to three hundred years from now will be the everlasting monument. There is a saying, “Talents emerge in every era and they all will each have 500 years of fame!” For people of the present day, the one whose work you like the best would be the one that is the most extraordinary!
Please see the contrast of six paintings below:
Sunflowers by Van Gogh (1)
Sunflowers by Van Gogh (2)
Sunflowers by Qi Baishi (1)
Sunflowers by Qi Baishi (2)
Ink-wash Painting Sunflowers by
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III
Oil Painting Sunflowers by
H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III
Jiguang Lin
October 26, 2018
时间： 11/11/2018
Link:https://greatprajna.org/2018/11/22/vincent-van-gogh-qi-baishi-and-h-h-dorje-chang-buddha-iii-compared-whose-artwork-is-the-best/
#DorjeChangBuddhaIII #DorjeChangBuddha #Buddha
般若智 
对 《梵高、齐白石 PK 第三世多杰羌佛，看谁的作品厉害》一文的评论
在此，我向林緝光先生道歉之外，隨作些許膚淺的看法。
林先生鑑定評判《梵高、齐白石PK第三世多杰羌佛，看谁的作品厉害》文論我看了，我是在1999年英國溫布頓藝術學院繪畫系碩士畢業，也學習從事鑑定中西畫多年。梵高的藝境獨立整個西方畫壇，成為霸主，無人能及，是我崇拜的偶像。而在畫評上，我還沒有見到過對畫藝評論判定得這麼專業的，林先生的評論精闢，觀點獨到中肯，實為近年罕見扎實的藝術文評，本人頗為佩服。由於另外看到一些關於林先生的報導時，一知半解的我，被別有用心之人誤導，竟然對林先生本人作出了一些誤會的看法，我在此向緝光大師致歉。
確實，林先生身為專業鑑定評判家，對梵高、齊白石PK第三世多杰羌佛的作品，立論不凡，資料詳實，論據、論點、論理，所論述之觀點，真實的反映了梵高、齊白石、第三世多杰羌佛藝術上的超凡成就及其畫品德格。羌佛的作品，無論是水墨畫還是西方之油畫，長存於藝術歷史的長河中，有如八大山人、陳子莊的畫境，雖風格各異，卻到了前無古人之境界。盡管是歷史上的巨匠，作為PK的梵高和齊白石，畫藝已達高峰，但在與羌佛PK時，大家都能一眼看出，羌佛的畫作神形兼備，筆觸功力十足，內涵極深，用筆活透自然，技法脫俗，筆筆見功，堪為世界畫壇之瑰寶。梵高與齊白石，是各有所長所短。白石大師在傳統的東方哲學思想融匯於筆墨上，中鋒內含書卷氣，畫展老到童心，但短處是法變單純。而梵高大師是天資悟性，寫實功底較強，長處是施法頗廣，且達到畫我雙忘、天人合一、脫掉凡俗之氣，而成西方畫壇魁首。但是把梵高、齊白石的向日葵與第三世多杰羌佛的向日葵放在一起PK，實在是不恰當的！有幾句話我一直說不出口，再三思忖後，從道德誠實而言，應該講幾句心裡話，這是以我個人的觀點評說。羌佛的向日葵與梵高、齊白石的手筆一比，稍懂一點畫藝的人都能看出，兩位大師的向日葵，從筆觸、韻稚上，明顯帶有呆匠之氣，還有那麼一點拘謹，含儲有標本的氣息。
有一位西方友人說：林先生在文章中的觀點是東方人的觀點，西方人不一定認同。一聽這句話就是一個不懂藝術的人說的外行話，藝術根本沒有東方人和西方人的觀點，藝術是直觀的世界語言，好就是好，不好就是不好，好的東西是活透的、有生命力的，不好的東西是呆板的、死匠的，藝術之間相互對比鑑賞，不需要外加論評，就能看出好壞。好的東西，行家都難以臨摹下來 ，因為技法、神韻含藏於藝術之中，難以捉摸；不好的東西，有繪畫基礎的人都能輕輕臨摹，仿製相同，因為技法、藝境、神韻平淡普通。我相信東西方只要懂藝術的人，都是用眼睛和心靈感受到藝術的好壞差別，而不是像那位西方友人貶低有的西方人似乎看不懂藝術，而是取捨文字的說法來判斷藝術的好壞。其實，西方人的見地觀點是不低於東方人的境界，這是人類的共性審美觀，不是危言聳聽觀，除非某一個人一點藝術細胞都沒有，那還跟他說什麼呢？什麼都不用說了！
我聽說在加州柯文納，第三世多杰羌佛文化藝術館，有一張羌佛畫的《龍鯉鬧蓮池》，被法庭作證的評估專家評估價值為5900萬美元，若能有人複製成功，可領取600萬美金的獎。我不是想要領這筆懸獎，而是為了藝術的探討。我去藝術館實際臨摹過這張畫，果然非同凡響，最終體驗到了羌佛的技法之高妙，我無法成功。梵高、齊白石的畫我也臨摹過，有親身經歷的體驗，兩位前輩的藝境，與羌佛的藝境根本不在一個層面上，沒有可比因素。
我再次感謝林先生的論評中的精闢分析，令我有幸能夠多了解學習到更多藝術的見地。
關官豪
二零一八年十一月二十二日