Neihua painting, originated from painting snuff bottle, is a unique traditional craft in China. The method of neihua painting is to draw a nuanced picture by hand, containing mostly traditional figures, animals and historical stories, with a specially made fine pens inside blank pots of glass/crystal, amber and other materials. It is rich and gorgeous in color, elegant in style and subtle in brushwork.
Modern neihua painting art is from Beijing school, divided into Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Guangdong and Shanxi schools. Beijing school artists draw paintings by bamboo pens and willow pens, and they are good at drawing old fashioned and classic pictures. While for Shandong school, it is most distinctive to draw paintings inside snuff bottles by a vellus hair brush with glaze used on porcelains, and then a enamel painting of neihua painting snuff bottle takes shape after baking, which will not be damaged even if holds water. It is outstanding in its delicate and beautiful pictures. Hebei school neihua painting is characterized by subtle wrinkle method and fine coloring, accurate sculpt and elegant style, as well as picture effect of several painting kinds imitated by combining presentation techniques of traditional Chinese painting color and oil painting color, in particular very prominent in the creation of portrait theme. And Guangdong school is famous for its beautiful colors and decorative style in the world and it is also a young school.
Currently, the craft of neihua painting is very prosperous in Zibo in Shandong, Hebei and other regions. Especially, Hebei neihua painting is the largest, fastest-growing and most influential faction. And its birthplace, Hengshui of Hebei Province, has also been named as “Hometown of China’s Neihua Paintings” by the Ministry of Culture.
Mr. Wang Xisan from Hebei is a national master in this field, and also a handicraft master in the Asian-Pacific region. He teaches apprentices skills and has established his own workshop “Xisan Neihua Paintings Museum” in Hebei.
