仰观:从穹顶画到藻井画——以异域、西域和敦煌石窟为文明比较

Central Roof Paintings: From Dome Murals to Caisson Ceiling Paintings——Comparison of Civilizations in Foreign Regions, the Western Regions,and the Dunhuang Caves

针对敦煌石窟藻井画与异域、西域的穹顶画的不同,从西方券顶和穹顶画入手,分析双方的不同,探讨了表现神祇和人物的穹顶画为什么在敦煌几乎没有出现,认为敦煌藻井画的出现或与印度石窟平棋、阿富汗石窟三角天井构造有一定联系,但巴米扬、龟兹和吐鲁番石窟都有穹顶画,到了敦煌就停滞了空间创作与传播。敦煌藻井画由北朝隋初唐的艺术动感,发展为中唐的静态设计,晚唐五代繁复极致却僵硬成为程式化装饰,显然与异域穹顶人物画的写实本真相差甚远,并制约了后世藻井画的整体创新,失去了外来文化激活开新,影响到吸纳新艺术潮流的演变推进。

Focusing on the differences between the caisson ceiling paintings in the caves of Dunhuang and the dome paintings in foreign countries and the Western Regions, this paper analyzes the unique characteristics of these artistic styles and discusses the reasons why dome paintings depicting deities and human beings are extremely rare in Dunhuang caves. In addition,this study concludes that the caisson ceiling paintings in Dunhuang caves were likely related to the roof structure of the flat ceilings of Indian caves and the triangular ceilings in caves in Afghanistan, and that the dome paintings commonly found in the caves of Bamiyan, Kucha and Turfan, as well the spatial structure used to create them, were not disseminated into China beyond Dunhuang. The caisson ceiling paintings in Dunhuang caves were developed from the artistic conventions of the Northern Dynasties, the Sui dynasty and the early Tang dynasty;as well as the highly“static” design style of the Middle Tang period and the complex but frequently copied decoration of the Late Tang. The realistic rendering of the figures in the ceiling paintings at Dunhuang is obviously quite different from those painted on vaulted ceilings in foreign countries. The style of ceiling paintings from this time limited the innovation possible in later generations of caisson paintings, lacked the creativity activated by mixing with foreign cultures, and had the overall effect of inhibiting the evolution and advancement of new artistic developments.