some remarks on quality p.18
All the numerous brushstrokes, the light ink, the colour, they form in the end the composition of the painting. All the details find together to represent one subject.
But of course: all the described painting techniques could only be done, after the painter had a complete picture already in his mind. Things have to be painted in the right order and corrections are not possible. It is therefore not only essential the painter can rely on his skill at any moment, he has to see the whole painting before he even does the first stroke. Complicated paintings might have been drafted first in very light ink or as another option, to test the composition, it is created a complete draft painting.
Usually a professional artist is working on the request of his costumer. Many compositions have a tradition of centuries and are used again and again in variations. The idea for the subject is therefore much less important than its execution.
The pride of the best artists is to produce paintings which will exceed the expectations of the connoisseur. They combine the perfect skill of a painter with a thorough knowledge of a scholar, the wisdom of philosophers, use them to open an unexpected window to show us the world with their eyes.
Like in a great masterpieces of our best composers there are always many layers of quality and not all layers could be appreciated by the untrained. But the mark of a great painter is to use his skill to deliver the subject even to the amateur. So one could be fascinated but one has not to understand why.
Overall quality is created with quality in detail.
To learn and understand the quality of details will enrich the connoisseur, will provide other layers of an art to him, which is at its best, reflecting the flow of the world in the movement of the brush.