Seeing and Creating: How to Understand Different Ways of “Seeing” in Painting?

Author:  S2797228 from Blue Basho

license：Seeing and Creating: How to Understand Different Ways of “Seeing” in Painting? © 2025 by Xurui Xie is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Synopsis

This is an open source toolkit—meaning anyone can edit and modify it as they like—and this teaching plan primarily aims to guide learners to understand that there are many different “ways of seeing” in painting, through which anyone can create something with “artist’s eyes.”

Learning Objective

• Guide learners to understand the multiple “ways of seeing” in painting and the differences between them.
• Enable learners to observe light, composition, and viewpoint, and realize that “seeing” is not only a visual act but also a cultural experience applicable to media creation.
• Let learners practice “how to see” through experience: they will complete a simple visual re-creation (with no restrictions on form) based on different ways of seeing.
• Recognize and compare different “ways of seeing” in paintings from distinct cultural contexts.
• Apply these understandings to produce an original and visual creation that reflects a chosen “way of seeing.”

Brief Teaching Principles

(A)Openness: All images and materials are from public domain or openly licensed resources.

(B)Inclusivity: Learners are not required to master skills in traditional canvas or paper painting. Meanwhile, I choose to use electronic devices such as mobile phones— which are closely related to everyone’s daily life— as the medium to create each learner’s own “spatial experience”. There is no requirement for learners to have prior knowledge of art history to participate; anyone can join through observation and experienc

(C)Time Adaptability: The structure is compact and can be fully completed within 20 minutes.

Recommended OER Resources for Teaching (Fully Openly Licensed, Free for Use)

Rembrandt’s The Night Watch

1. • Source: Rijksmuseum (National Museum of the Netherlands) Open Resource Library
   • Link: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-C-5
   • License: CC0 Public Domain, free for use
   • （These are brief introductions delivered by educators to learners, with full consideration of the auditory and participation needs of visually impaired people.）This painting depicts a Dutch militia unit setting out on patrol. It is extremely large—about twice the height of an average person and wide enough for someone to take more than ten steps. The most striking feature is two figures: the captain in the front, dressed in black and wearing a broad-brimmed hat, stretches his hand forward as if directing the team. Beside him, his deputy is clad in bright yellow, bathed in sunlight that makes him stand out vividly. Light shines obliquely from the upper left of the frame, illuminating their faces and clothing while darkening the figures behind them. Around them stand more than a dozen soldiers—some holding guns, others adjusting the flag, and a few beating drums. The background is blurred and dim, emphasizing the two front figures. The overall atmosphere is tense yet dynamic, as if the unit is just about to depart. The key light element is a beam of golden light piercing through the darkness, making the figures appear as if they are stepping out of the shadows. Standing as a culmination of landscape painting philosophy in Chinese art history, this piece represents an ideological turn—from “depicting natural scenery” to “constructing a spiritual realm.” The painting’s vertical, lofty composition establishes a symbolic structure of cosmic order: at the bottom, several travelers trek along the mountain foot, appearing diminutive in scale; the middle section features stacked rock formations and interwoven trees; and the upper third is dominated by a towering peak that soars into the clouds. Unlike naturalistic illumination, light in the work is rendered through the gradation of ink tones and the rhythm of brushwork. Fan Kuan employs techniques such as wet ink washes, dry cun strokes, and layered staining to construct a space brimming with vital energy, endowing the mountain with both physical weight and a sense of breath. While the painting lacks clear markers of time or weather, it conveys an overarching sense of “ever-shifting natural phenomena”—a reflection of the Northern Song philosophical notion of “the unity of heaven and humanity.” When humans traverse the mountains, they do not merely observe nature; instead, they come to grasp their own insignificance alongside the vastness of heaven and earth through the mountain’s imposing presence. This mode of viewing stands in fundamental contrast to Western perspectival logic: it does not strive for optical verisimilitude, but emphasizes spiritual insight and the manifestation of Dao. In effect, Travelers Among Mountains and Streams is not just a landscape painting, but a “philosophical text of perception”: brush and ink serve as the language of ontology, and space becomes a site where the mind and the world mutually reflect one another.

Fan Kuan’s Travelers Among Mountains and Streams

1. • Source: Wikimedia Commons
   • Link: File:Fan Kuan – Travelers Among Mountains and Streams – Google Art Project.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
   • License: CC0 Public Domain, free for use
   • （These are brief introductions delivered by educators to learners, with full consideration of the auditory and participation needs of visually impaired people.）This is a tall landscape painting. Its vertical format—tall with a narrow width—is a specific format of Chinese painting from the Northern Song Dynasty and beyond, a distinctive feature of Chinese civilization. The entire painting is divided into three sections from bottom to top. At the bottom, several people ride donkeys along a path at the foot of the mountain, accompanied by tall trees with thick and gnarled trunks. The middle section consists of layer upon layer of rock formations, worn smooth by water and wind, with numerous shadows. The top section is dominated by a massive, upright mountain peak that occupies nearly half the frame, towering so high it seems to touch the sky. There is no clear direction of light; the light and dark tones of the painting are mainly conveyed through the depth of ink wash. The higher up the mountain, the lighter the ink, as if shrouded in mist. Though there is no sunlight in the painting, it exudes a profound and serene atmosphere—humans appear insignificant against the vastness of the mountains. The composition is “top-heavy,” guiding the viewer’s gaze from bottom to top, as if transiting from the human world to the realm of heaven and earth. As a peak of landscape painting philosophy in Chinese art history, it represents the ideological shift from “depicting scenery” to “constructing a spiritual realm.” The entire painting establishes a symbolic structure of cosmic order through a vertical high-distance composition: several travelers at the bottom walk at the foot of the mountain, extremely small; the middle layer consists of stacked rocks and interlaced trees; the top is a towering mountain peak that occupies more than one-third of the frame. Light does not come from real illumination, but is formed by the depth of ink and the rhythm of brushwork. Fan Kuan constructs a space of flowing vitality through techniques such as wet ink, dry cun strokes, and layered washes, endowing the mountain with both weight and breath. There is no clear time or weather in the painting, yet it conveys an overall sense of “myriad meteorological changes,” which embodies the Northern Song philosophical thought of “the unity of heaven and humanity.” When humans walk in the mountains, they do not merely observe nature, but comprehend their own insignificance and the vastness of heaven and earth through the momentum of the mountains. This way of viewing is fundamentally different from the perspectival visual logic of the West—it does not pursue optical truth, but emphasizes spiritual perception and the manifestation of Dao. Travelers Among Mountains and Streams is therefore not just a landscape painting, but a “philosophical text of seeing”: brush and ink become the language of ontology, and space becomes a place where the mind and the world reflect each other.

Ink and light color on silk, Northern Song dynasty (early 11th century). 206.3 × 103.3 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei.
A monumental hanging scroll depicting towering mountains, deep valleys, and tiny travelers below. The composition reflects the Song ideal of harmony between human life and the vast order of nature.

Oil on canvas, 1642. 363 × 437 cm. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
A dynamic group portrait of a Dutch civic guard illuminated by a dramatic beam of light. The composition breaks from the static tradition of civic portraits, creating a theatrical sense of movement and collective action.

Teaching Process (20-Minute Structured Plan)

【1】Introduction | 0–3 minutes

• Before showing the artworks, have learners keep their eyes closed for 10 seconds to recall a moment that light deeply impressed them (e.g., morning light, street lighting, sunset). Then ask: “In that memory, which appeared first to you—the object or the light itself?”
• First, the instructor asks learners: “How do we ‘see’? How does light influence our understanding of a painting?”
• Cite John Berger’s classic statement: “Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.”
• Brief explanation: Today we will compare the “ways of seeing” and their differences in paintings from two distinct cultural backgrounds, and experience the meaning of “seeing” in different cultures.

【2】Case 1: Rembrandt’s The Night Watch | 3–8 minutes

• Display a high-resolution image (from OER sources).
• Guide learners to observe:
• What do you notice first when looking at this painting?
• Where does the light come from?
• How do light and shadow organize the figures and focal points?
• If you were a figure in the painting, where would your gaze be drawn?
• Discussion: “Light” in Western art often creates a dramatic and centralized way of seeing; light and sight point to a definite aesthetic subject.

【3】Case 2: Fan Kuan’s Travelers Among Mountains and Streams | 8–13 minutes

• Display the image. Ask learners to observe quietly for 30 seconds.
• Questions:
• Is there a clear light source in this painting?
• How does Fan Kuan construct space through “blank space,” “ink wash gradations,” and “distance relationships”?
• Where do you feel the viewer’s perspective is—entering the mountains or overlooking them?
• Is the viewer’s perspective fixed or flowing?
• Brief summary: In Chinese painting, seeing is a flowing experience of “wandering gaze and free spirit.” It does not emphasize a single focal point but allows the viewer to perceive space through a wandering line of sight and a rhythmic, breathing-like “seeing.”

Practical Task | 13–17 minutes

• The instructor assigns the following task:

Ask learners to choose one of the works and create a quick reconstruction using a mobile phone or pencil—imitating its “light” or “spatial construction method.” It should be noted that there is no strict requirement for learners to create paintings on canvas or paper; instead, “creation” is defined in a very broad sense. In other words, learners do not need existing painting skills to participate. For example, guide them to use Rembrandt-style light and shadow to take a photo of any object or person with a mobile phone, or use Fan Kuan’s composition method to do something similar, or use the different “ways of seeing” they have realized to splice or re-create existing images in their mobile phones with electronic devices. Of course, simple sketching is also acceptable. Requirement: Neither instructors nor learners may use generative AI in this session.

• Explanations:
• The focus of the task is to transform the experience of “how to see” into creation in a very broad sense. Mobile photography, photo editing, collage, digital sketching on a tablet, or drawing with paper and pencil are all acceptable—no restrictions on form.
• The use of generative AI tools is not allowed.
• Learners are encouraged to use resources at hand (mobile phone cameras, notebooks, paper and pencils, collage apps, etc.).
• The instructor circulates to provide guidance and encourages free expression.

Evaluation and Reflection | 17–20 minutes

• Group Sharing: Each learner presents their media creation and introduces to other learners:
  • Which way of “seeing” is more in line with your own viewing habits?
  • What different “light” or “space” have you discovered in the paintings of Rembrandt or Fan Kuan?
  • The instructor asks the learners: How do you understand the connections or differences between “seeing” in painting and different life scenarios?
  • Finally, with the explicit consent of the learners, please post a photo taken using the way of “seeing” learned today on Padlet (https://padlet.com) or Google Jamboard(https://jamboard.google.com), or write a brief new understanding of “light and seeing”.
  • Optional reflection question (for post-activity discussion or online sharing):“How could these varied ways of seeing alter how you capture photos, view films, or observe people in your daily life?”