Asia: China, Japan, Korea

Form

• Jade: a high status stone in Chinese culture

• 10 1/2 × 3 × 3 in

• Cong: hollow cylinder

  • Square outer section with circular inner part

• Extremely difficult and time consuming to produce

  • Jade cannot be split like other stone

  • Must be sanded to shape and finish

  • Formed prior to modern tools!

Function

• Found in burial sites

  • Placed near the head or chest of the deceased

    • Clearly significant although we don’t know exact intention

Content

• 4 exterior points with a face carved into each corner

Context

• Buried in large numbers

  • one tomb alone had 25 bi and 33 cong

  • Spectacular examples have been found at all the major archaeological sites

• Neolithic Period (10,000 - 2000 BCE)

  • Age before the use of metal

  • Transformed from nomads to settling farmers

• Stone workers used jade to make prestigious, beautifully polished versions of utilitarian stone tools, such as axes, and also to make implements with possible ceremonial or protective functions

Carved Jade

China

3300 - 2200 BCE

Form

• Terracotta - clay that fires to stone-like quality

• Life size army!

• Warriors were originally painted in bright/elaborate color

• Assembly line  production of eight thousand figures

  • Bodies made from uniform molds

    • Details like facial features, hair, and armor added with wet clay to individualize the warriors

Function

• To protect the emperor of China in the afterlife

Content

• A life-size army including warriors, infantrymen, horses, chariots and their armor/weaponry

• The army faces east towards emperor’s conquered territories

• A “sprawling citadel”

  • gardens and stables, bronze ritual vessels, jade jewelry, and a wealth of gold and silver ornaments

  • Objects meant to reference the sun and moon in honor of the cosmos

    • The emperor believed the cosmos would help him cross over into the afterlife

Context

• Accounts of the site were thought to be legend until the burial complex was discovered by farmers in 1974

• Soon after he came to the throne at the age of 13, he began elaborately planning for his death

  • Building took  36 years

  • Workforce of 700,000

• Named himself “The First Emperor” - he left a legacy of a centralized and bureaucratic state that would continue to successive dynasties over the next two thousand years

Qin Dynasty

Painted Terra Cotta

China

221 - 209 BCE

Form/content

• Six feet long

• Brightly colored with gorgeous detailed imagery

• Banner is divided into four registers.

• Attempted depth

• Imagery of not only people,but many creatures and animals as well as symbolism from the natural world

  • Lower central register: Lady Dai standing along with her servants (two in front and three behind)

    • Sinuous dragons frame the scene on either side

    • Their bodies loop through a bi (A disc with a hole thought to represent the sky) underneath Lady Dai

• Not a portrait of her former life, but an image of her in the afterlife enjoying immortal comforts of her tomb as she ascends to the heavens.

  • Register Below: Sacrificial funerary rituals in a mourning hall.

  • Tripod containers and vase-shaped vessels for offering.

  • Middle mourners line up in two rows.

  • Mound in the center matches pattern of silk that the robe Lady Dai wears in the scene above.

• Above and below the scenes of Lady Dai and the mourning hall we see images of heaven and the underworld

• Beginning of the T shape two men face each other and guard the gate to the heavenly realm.

• Directly above at the very top we see a deity with a human head and a dragon body.

• Left a toad standing on Crescent moon flanks the deity.

• Right: Might be a Three-legged crow within a pink sun.

• Dragons and other beings populate the sky

• Beneath mourning hall, underworld: Two giant black fish, a red snake, a pair of blue goats, and an unidentified deity.

  • Deity appears to hold up the floor of the mourning hall, while the two fish cross to form a circle beneath him.

Han Dynasty

Painted Silk

180 BCE

Form

• about 7ft by 3.3ft

• Extremely detailed and frontal depiction

• Boulders in foreground at eye level and rock formations are covered with trees

• 2 men with a group of donkeys and firewood

• Temple hidden in forrest

• Peak rises from mist with 2 other smaller peaks on sides (takes up ⅔ of picture)

• Waterfall coming from tallest peak

Function

• Reflect the artists view of life in a Chinese landscape style painting

Content

• Neo- Confucian→ search for absolute truth in nature and self

  -represented in painting by sense of whole creation

  • Neo- Confucian also involved “observing things in the light of their own principles” . This is how Kuan painted rather than just through the human eye

-  captured traits of the southern Shaunxi and Northwestern Henan provinces

- scale gives a real sense of space

- figures are small compared to the peaks

-gaps between distances act a break between the views. These pieces do no physically connect, they are separate (foreground, middle, peaks)

- Reflects the artists open character

Context

• Little knows about the artist, but was known for landscape paintings during the Song Dynasty period. He was also a recluse (searching for spiritual enlightenment)

• Chinese painters elevated landscape painting to its own subject

• Chinese viewed the mountains as sacred

• Scholars that fled to the mountains during the time of the 5 dynasties saw pine trees as “representative of the virtuous man

Fan Kuan

Ink and Colors on Silk

1000 CE

Form

• The shape of the vases is based on bronze vessels.

• They are painted in underglazed cobalt blue with images of a number of auspicious motifs.

• On main body of each vase is painted a four-clawed dragon surrounded by clouds.

• 2 ½ feet tall

• Mongolian style

Function

• Made for Daoist temples to honor a military leader who was defied

• Expression of the Silk Road

• Held flowers beside an altar.

Content

• Tall white vessels decorated with blue stylized dragons, birds, clouds and floral designs.

• The neck of the vases have handles that resemble Asian elephants’ heads.

• Elephant handles

• Inscription with date, location, temple patron and purpose

• Phoenix and dragon balanced (symbol of Daoist faith- ying and yang)

Context

• The David Vases were made during reign of the foreign Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

• It was made when China was at the heart of a vast Mongol Empire.

Yuan Dynasty, China

White Porcelain with Cobalt Blue Underglaze

1351 CE

Form/Content

• Architects  followed  cosmic order of Confucian ideology

  • Moral harmony directly related to cosmic harmony

    • What one does, affects the other

      • For example, poor political decisions can lead to natural disasters such as floods

        • Vicious symbols and animals meant to protect the imperial family from natural disaster and intruders

        • Each structure was designed in accordance with Hierarchy

• A micro city of palaces and administrative buildings covering 178 acres and surrounded by a moat

  • Public and domestic spheres are clearly divided

  • Several gates before passing through The Meridian Gate to get to the main palace

    • Outer Court- men only

    • Inner Court- domestic family life

      • Emperor, Empress, and concubines’ home

      • Inner courts mirrors the layout of the outer court in a mini version with fountains and gardens

• Emperor represents the apex of the empire

  • Wearing a  dragon robe and  sitting on a dragon throne

  • The Hall of Supreme Harmony placement on a high terrace symbolized the Emperor’s divinity and closeness to the heavens

Function

• Political and ritual center of China for over 500 years

• “The Forbidden City”

  • Access restricted to members of the imperial family and those know to have business with them

• Now a monument to China’s glorious past

Context

• In 1420, Emperor Ming moved the capital to the north (now Beijing) in an effort  to consolidate the throne

• 24 Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties over 400 years ruled here

• Inhabitants were rarely ever able to leave once they entered

• Took 1 million workers 20 years to construct

• End of empire in 1911 due to revolution

  • Ordinary people now able to enter the city

• The most visited museum in the People’s Republic of China

  • average of eighty thousand visitors every day

Beijing, China - Ming Dynasty

Stone Masonry, Marble, Brick, Wood, Ceramic Tile

15th Century  CE

Form

• 29 ½ in tall x  21 3/5 in wide

• Dull color palette

  • Also consists mainly of cool colors

• Man (Mao Zhedong) standing on top of mountain with mountain range and cloudy sky  in the background

• Use of atmospheric perspective

Function

• Made to be spread as propaganda

  • Effort to stop criticism against Mao

Content

• Mao is idealised with his clenched fist and serious expression

• He is wearing a traditional chinese outfit even though western was much more common at the time

• The cool colors are meant to convey his determination and seriousness

• He is on top of a mountain meaning that the artist is comparing him to a deity (remember divine right)

• He is looking outward showing his intentions to lead China into the future

• Telephone pole in bottom left corner shows modernization which is currently taking place

• The painting was copied as a lithographic print over 900,000,000

Context

• Mao Zhedong was a communist revolutionary who led China from 1949-76 and encouraged artist to “Make art for the people” that would convey communist ideas to the masses

  • Cultural revolution: Mao’s goal to reinforce communism and get rid of capitalism

• During China's cultural revolution “Mao paintings” were the main focus

  • Depicted his effort to regain his hold after bitter political struggles within the party

  • The movement was an effort to stop criticism against Mao using art, literature and performing arts

China - based on oil painting by Liu Chunhua

Color Lithograph

1969 CE

Form

• 1.4 ft by 22 ft 9 inches

• Emaki: common East Asian hand scroll painting

• Warriors on horseback

• Otoke-e: action-packed “men’s paintings”

• Birds eye view of action from right to left

Function

• Celebrates Japan’s transition from messy, selfish royal rule to rule of samurai

Content

• Extreme attention to detail: scholars use this work as a reference for the period-

• Every building is individually detailed, every face has a different expression and emotion, every weapon is identifiable due to rank, type, design

• Cohesive narrative arc of war, chaos and victory

• Depicts seizing of retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa

• Elegant ox on the right starts off the narrative, will eventually carry Go-Shirakawa

• Aristocrats portrayed finely, soldiers portrayed as animals

• Palace set on fire

Context

• The art depicts only one battle of the viscous Heiji Insurrection in 1159-1160. War ended in 1192 with the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate

• Part of a series that depicts the entire war, only two other remain

• Once owned by a powerful samurai, fell into the possession of an influential American, now in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston since 1889

Kamakura Period - Japan

Handscroll (Ink and Color on Paper)

1250 - 1300  CE

Form

• 67 in x 61 in

• Landscape scene

  • Two large flowing trees

    • Red blossom

    • Dream vision

  • No sense of time or place

• Black ink with gem-like colors

• Unnatural tilt in the river

• On a folding screen

• Japanese style mixed with own methods

  • Tarashikomi

    • Dilute washes of color

  • Mokkotsu

    • “Boneless” no exterior outline

Function

• Depict early spring

Content

• Swirls in the lake → water flowing

• Looking up towards trees

  • Focus on lower part of tree

• White pushes left and outward → sense of space

• Separated but near each other

  • Closed space

  • Turns a 2D space into more of a 3D

Context

• Rinpa Movement (School of Korin)

  • First seem with Hon’ami Koetsu (calligrapher), Tarawaya Sotatsu (merchants)

  • Originally inspired by Japanese Lit.

    • Moved towards nature

  • Combine abstraction with naturalism

  • Korin was not founder but symbol of

  • Inspired media with similar style

    • Gold fans, albums, hand scrolls etc

• Inspired many modernists in the west

  • Gustav Kilmt - The Kiss

Ogata Korin

Ink, Watercolor, and Gold Leaf on Paper

1710  CE

Form

• Woodblock print: process video

• Ukiyo-e Style - literally means “pictures of the floating world”

  • A common print/paint style 17th - 19th century

  • Inexpensive and distributed widely

  • Flattened perspective/ innovative composition

Function

• Prints sold as souvenirs - images accessible to a growing middle class

Content

• Composition arranged to frame Mount Fuji

  • White top of great wave creates diagonal line leading viewers eye directly to peak of mountain top

• Juxtaposition of large wave in foreground dwarfing small mountain in distance

• Men in boats trying to escape waves - power of nature

• European influence is evident

  • Linear perspective

  • low horizon line

  • prussian blue

Context

• Ever present theme: “Nature is large and we are small”

• Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan and considered sacred

• Part of series of prints by Hokusai called Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji

• Hokusai discovered Western prints through Dutch Trade

• Western artists like Monet, Degas, and Cassatt collected the prints and were heavily influenced by the Ukiyo-e Style

Katsushika Hokusai

Polychrome Woodblock Print, Ink and Color on Paper

1830 CE

Form

• Height 10 ¾ in

• Made of gold and jade (valuable materials)

• The gold discs would simmer in the light

• Worn on the forehead like a headband

Function

• Used for burial practices

• Used for ceremonial rites of the Silla

  • Before practicing Buddhism the kingdom practiced Shamanism

    • For nature worship a priest-like figure or expertise would wear the crown to emphasis their importance

Content

• Three tree-shaped vertical elements symbolize the sacred tree that once stood in the ritual site of Gyeongju (Silla capital)

  • The tree known as ‘world tree’ was believed to connect heaven to earth (axis mundi)

• Antler-shaped protrusions may refer to the reindeer that were native to Northern Korea

• Jade ornaments symbolize ripe fruits hanging from tree branches, representing fertility and abundance

Context

• Korea was divided into 3 kingdoms and Silla was the most powerful of them

  • Was described as the “country of gold”

• Between the 5th and 6th century the crowns became more lavish with more decorations and branches

• Another crown conical cap was found and believed to be the inner-lining to this crown but was actually worn independently over a top-knot to indicate social status

Three Kingdoms Period - Silla Kingdom, Korea

Metalwork

5th to 6th Century CE

Form

• About 5.5 ft x 3.5 ft

• Formulaic attire and posture, unique features

• Crisp, angular lines and subtle gradations of color

Function

• commemorated the sitter in both life and death in Joseon dynasty, Korea

• served as a focus for ancestral rituals after death

• likely hung within the family shrine to guide the soul in the practice of ancestral worship

• reflected both the honor that Sin Sukju brought to his lineage as a meritorious official as well as Confucian beliefs about the afterlife

Content

• “meritorious subject”- official honored for distinguished service at court and loyalty to the king during a tumultuous time

• dressed in his official robes with a black silk hat on his head

• seated in a full-length view, often with their heads turned slightly and only one ear showing (in accordance with Korean portraiture conventions)

• seated in a folding chair with cabriole-style arms, where the upper part is convex and the bottom part is concave

• Leather shoes rest on an intricately carved wooden footstool

• hands folded neatly and concealed within his sleeves, in proper decorum

• wears a rank badge on his chest- pair of peacocks amongst flowering plants and clouds (silk/gold embroidery)

• wrinkles around thin, almond-shaped eyes, bright and clear

• mouth is surrounded by deep grooves where his moustache meets his chin

• solemn expression exudes wisdom and dignity

Context

• Royal Bureau of Painting (a government agency staffed with artists), created these portraits

• cherished by their families and worshiped for generations to follow

• Korean belief that the face could reveal important clues about the subject

• eminent scholar and a powerful politician who rose to the rank of Prime Minister

• Confucianism prominent philosophy of the time

  • thought that when a person died, the soul of the deceased remained among the world of the living until it gradually dissipated

Korea

Imperial Bureau of Painting

Hanging Scroll (Ink and Color on Silk)

15th Century  CE