者：王林

　　在人们的印象中，罗中立是人物画家，主要对象是大巴山区农民。然而就其画作的数量而言，他是风景画得更多，收在这本集子里的作品即可见一斑。

　　罗中立的风景画大致可分为三个阶段：附中时期、出国时期和院长时期。作这样的划分，不是这些时期的前前后后罗中立就没画过风景，而是因为他在这三个时期的风景画创作相对集中，且各有特点，既便于笔者论述，也便于读者观览。

　　罗中立曾谈到过画写生风景：“这种手工活，我们这一代从起步开始，实际上水平并没有增长。我看我附中也就这水平，有时候甚至觉得还是那时画得好。”对一个成熟的画家而言，其实画得好不好已不太重要。仅仅从学院教育所谓专业角度看，构图、形态、笔法、光影等等，要画出对象的精神，甚至要画出个人风格，固然需要长期训练，但并不是什么太难的事儿。关键在于你能否画出具体的、在场的、独特的感受。这种感受不仅仅是风格化的，它需要视觉的敏感和尖新，需要心态的自在与无碍，需要手头的灵动与才气。从这个意义上讲，我不喜欢那些画得很好的、程式化和样式化的风景画家，那是在制作风景，不是在画画。也正是在这个意义上，我把罗中立的风景画划出不同时期来加以讨论。

　　附中时期的作品比较学院气，讲究构图，块面的分布较为严谨，或者说画得很正确。因为注重块面之故，形体的团块感明显 ；从色彩看，黑白灰关系比较清楚，用色直截了当而略显粗略，不在意细节刻画的微妙变化，再加上总是使用比较宽阔的笔触，画面倒是显得质朴而厚重，有一种耐看的拙味。似乎从一开始，罗中立就不是那种画得轻松、飘逸和帅气的画家。米兰·昆德拉所言“生命中不能承受之轻”，对罗中立而言恐怕是与生俱来的。

　　出国时期的作品已是在他的《父亲》成名且画了《故乡组图》之后。指出这一点并非不重要，因为在《故乡组图》中罗中立已经开始用一种主观的变形方式处理对象，把笔下的农民画得敦实粗矮，从题材的意义思考转为形式的意味创造。这一时期的风景画主要是罗中立在游历欧洲时创作的。因为一路旅行之故，作品有速记写生的特点。这是一种日记式的绘画方式，记录了罗中立的行旅与勤奋。其画色彩浓郁而饱和，以线条勾勒为主，像抓拍一样，迅速抓住瞬间印象和心灵的触动。构图不求完整，只求留下让眼前一亮的景物。形体的处理根据画幅，显得粗重稳定，这一点与附中时期画建筑的团块感有关，也和《故乡组图》中画人物的敦实感有关，这些似乎是罗中立绘画中贯穿始终的东西。至于用笔，此时画家已显得十分自信，不拘一格，率意为之。其中有些画出现的参差感，开始显示着他后来画风的某种改变。在城市建筑中，罗中立把树枝画得野性十足，其中潜伏着一种来自山野的冲动，一种城市风景中难以囚禁的激情。

　　院长时期的风景画出品多多，乃是抢时间的结果。如果罗中立不当四川美院院长，他可能还是天天提起一瓶水进画室，一定是油画人物多而水彩风景少。只因为他太爱画画，只因为他太勤奋，所以总是忙里偷闲，找机会出城甚或出国，逃避公务，寻时画画。因为来之不易，所以珍惜、专注、用心，其状态和有事没事找画来画大不一样。此时的风景画，题材不论，或田园农舍、或旧城小巷、或景区茶廊、或遗址断墙。往往是对景速记，写生作画，抓住在特定季节、特定光线、特定氛围和特定心情中的眼前景物。其作迅速而具体，寥寥数笔，一阵涂抹，形神兼备。本来景物长在，但感觉兔起鹘落，稍纵即逝。抓住并留下那一顷刻的感觉、感受、感悟和感动，对罗中立风景画来说至关重要。记录下这一点，那逝去的一切就并没有消失。日后回想，尽管记忆不会历历在目，却保持着鲜活与生动。带着回顾与回味的兴奋，在画面上涂抹淡彩，对罗中立而言的确是一种享受。所以他笔下的风景画得自由而自如，既给你在场之感，又充满回忆之味；既不失冲动，又不觉急迫。在画中你不仅可以看到罗中立所见所闻的经历，而且可以读到他当时当地的感受；不仅可以观赏到他四处采撷的风物，而且可以体会到人与物之间难得的通融—只有在艺术中，这种通融平易而深入、偶然而珍贵。

　　老实说，画家要画到随心所欲的份儿上，也只有速记写生一类的风景画可以做到。因为在这里，没有多少功利，也无须太多的意义。因为热爱而投入，因为发现而感动。你在和自然沟通的时候，也在和他人沟通。

　　写到这里，突然想起陶渊明的诗句，只能就此打住。诗曰：“此中有真意，欲辨已忘言。”但愿评论与画作、批评家与艺术家能在真意中沟通。

　　2005年3月28日
　　于四川美院桃花山下

　　Viewing Luo Zhongli’s Landscape Painting(PREFACEⅡ)
　　WANG LIN
　　Luo Zhongli might be regarded as a portrait painter of farmers in Daba Mountains, but his landscapes dominate his works quantitatively, as can be seen in this album.

　　Luo's landscapes can be arranged in three stages: High School days, Overseas days, and Academy Presi-dent days. His landscapes are more concentrated in these stages, with distinct features between them. Thus arranged, it is easier to comment on them, and view them.

　　Luo talked about landscape sketch once, "in this handiwork, our generation make virtually no progress after the beginning. I could reach this level in my school days, and I sometimes feel that I did better at that time.?For a mature artist, it is not very important whether he draws well enough. From the professional view of academy education, in terms of composition, form, stroke and shade, it is not so difficult to bring out the spirit of the subject or even to achieve style, given extensive training. The point is whether you can realize a concrete presence and unique feeling, which is stylistically remarkable for a sensitive and novel vision from a free and ef-fortless mind as well as a dexterous and inspired hand. That is why I do not like stereotyped and stylized good landscape painters, who are making landscapes instead of painting. So I would like to describe Luo's landscapes in different stages.

　　His High School days are academically accomplished with meticulous composition and precise layout. There is obvious conglomeration in form and clear-cut gradation, in addition to straightforward and sketchy color lacking in subtle detail. His broad strokes seem simple and thick, with a clumsiness interesting to look at. Luo was not a lighthearted and elegant artist as a boy. Milan Kundera's “un-bearable lightness of being”was innate in Luo Zhongli.

　　Overseas days came after he became famous with his Father and Hometown series. This is nonetheless important, for his Hometown series show that he began a subjective metamorphism, which turned his farmers into stocky and gross figures, with his em-phasis shifting from rationalization of subject mat-ter to formal signification. The landscapes of this stage were executed during his stay in Europe. Travel necessitated quick sketches and diary-like painting was a record of his journey and diligence. Thick and saturated color is done in outline, which resembles candid camera, snatching instant impression and mental sparks. Luo did not pursue the complete composition; he only put down what caught his eye. The form was limited by the format, being sturdy and steady; this had something to do with conglomera-tion of buildings in his High School days and stocky figures in Hometown series. This seems to be Luo's consistent stylistic feature. His brushwork in this stage showed a self-confidence that allowed excursions from fixed patterns. The irregularity in some paintings an-ticipated his later changes in style. In his works of urban buildings, he added wild nature to trees. There is a latent impulse coming from mountain areas, which is a passion unconstrained in cityscape.

　　The Academy President stage is prolific, as an ex-ample of seizing the day. If he were not president, he would shut himself up in his studio with a bottle of water, painting oil portraits instead of landscape watercolours. But his love of art and diligence have forced him to take advantage of his time out of red tape to paint in the suburbs or in other countries. He treasures these rare opportunities and is more consci-entious than those who try to paint something any-time anyway. This kind of landscapes, whether idyllic, traditionally urban, or narrowed down to scenic wonders, cafes or ruins, usually are quick records of the scenes, singling out something in a particular season, a particular lighting, a particular atmosphere or a particular mood. The prompt and concrete works are executed in a few strokes and dabs. Yet they are complete in form and spirit. The constant scenes seem to be instantaneous. It seems vital for him to catch the whimsical feeling, sentiment and emotions. Records preserve what elapsed. When we come back to these later, they remain vividly alive, though not detailed enough. Luo enjoys scrawling with the excitement of retrospection and aftertaste, so his landscapes are done freely, lending a sense of presence as well as a taste of reminiscence. His impulses do not contain exigency. You not only find his personal experience, but also read his instantaneous feeling. You view the scenes that he picked up somewhere and feel a rare com-munion between people and elementary sources of life-which is easy and profound, occasional and trea-sured only in art.

　　To be honest, an artist can follow his inclinations only by sketching landscape, because only here there is not much material pursuit or overflowing meaning. You are engulfed as a result of love, captivated by your discovery. When you have communion with nature, you communicate with other people.

　　I think Tao Yuanming was right when he wrote ?There is a real sense in this, but word fails me here.?I have to stop here, wishing that there were communication in real sense between criticism and art, between critic and artist.
　　At Peach Blossom Hill, SichuanAcademy of Fine Arts
　　March 28,2005