chapter 3.3 art of india, china, and japan part 3 history and context copyright © 2011 thames &...

Chapter 3.3

Art of India, China, and Japan

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

3.56 Map of Asia: India, China, and Japan

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Introduction

India, China, and Japan are part of Asia

Philosophy and religious traditions Religious pluralism and syncretic (blending two or more belief

systems)

Characteristics often in common:

• Meditation

• Respect for ancestors

• Harmony with nature

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PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

Philosophical and Religious Traditions in Asia

Buddhism Teachings of Buddha Acceptance of difficulties Desire to attain Enlightenment

Confucianism Based on philosophy of Confucius Self-discipline Ancestral worship

Daoism (The Way) Based on teachings of Lao Zi Balance of opposites Harmony with the universe

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Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

Philosophical and Religious Traditions in Asia cont.

Hinduism Reincarnation Karma Polytheistic

Islam Belief in a single God (Allah) Follow the teachings of the Koran

Shinto (Way of the Gods) Belief in Kami (spirits in nature) Ancestral worship

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

India

Peninsula in southern Asia bordered on north by Himalayas

One-third the size of the United States

Stylistic characteristics of art: Very detailed and elaborate decoration

Emphasis on human body

• Often sensual

• Suggestive of fertility

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Buddhism in Indian Art

Buddha (The Enlightened One) Born a prince in Nepal, India

At age 29 became an ascetic

His teachings were spread throughout India after his death

Buddha’s remains buried in eight stupas (burial mounds) marking important locations in his life

3.57 Great Stupa, third century BCE, enlarged under the Sunga and Andhra Dynasties, c. 150–50 BCE, Sanchi, India

3.58 East gate of Great Stupa, Sanchi, India

3.59 Bodhisattva Padmapani, Cave 1, Ajanta, India. Cave painting, second half of 5th century

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Hinduism in Indian Art

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, and the majority of its followers are in India

Thousands of temples in India, built by centuries of rulers

3.60 Kandariya Mahadeva temple, c. 1000, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India

3.61 Detail of exterior sculpture, Kandariya Mahadeva temple

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Islam in Indian Art

Mughals took over India in mid-16th century, and ruled for centuries

Commissioned new artworks Persian artists

Indian artists

3.62 Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaykh to Kings, from the St. Petersburg album, Mughal Dynasty, c. 1615–18. Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper, 18⅞ × 13”. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

3.63 Taj Mahal, 1631–48, Agra, India

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Click the image above to launch the video

“The Abode of Paradise”: The Taj Mahal

To appreciate the astonishing achievement of the Taj Mahal in more detail, watch:

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

China

Yellow and Yangtze rivers

Same size as the United States

Stylistic characteristics of art: Reveals respect for heritage and ancestral worship

Encourages an inspired meditative state

Generally uniform, symmetrical, and precise

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Chinese Scroll Painting

The Three Perfections: Calligraphy

Painting

Poetry

Hanging or hand scrolls

Read from right to left

Should be experienced like a personal journey, not all at once

Are often marked with signs of ownership or appreciation

3.64 Wang Meng, Ge Zhichuan Moving His Dwelling, c.1360. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, 54¾ × 22⅞”. Palace Museum, Beijing, China

3.65 Zhang Zeduan, Along the River during the Qingming Festival, Northern Song Dynasty, 11th century. Handscroll, ink and color on silk, 10” × 17’ 3”. Palace Museum, Beijing, China

3.66 Detail of Zhang Zeduan, Along the River during the Qingming Festival

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Death and the Afterlife

Ancestral worship

Fine objects buried with the dead

Chinese believed dead become supernatural beings

3.67 Ritual wine vessel (guang), late Shang dynasty, c. 1700–1050 BCE. Bronze, 6½ × 3¼ × 8½”. Brooklyn Museum, New York

3.68 Detail from painted banner from tomb of Lady Dai Hou Fu-ren, Han Dynasty, c. 168 BCE. Silk. Hunan Museum, Changsha, China

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Japan

Country made up of many small islands

About the same square-footage as California

Stylistic characteristics of art: Reveals great reverence for nature

• Japan is vulnerable to tsunamis and earthquakes

• Kami – spirits present everywhere, including in nature

Often asymmetrical and organic

Contemplative to promote meditation

3.69 Sonoko Sasaki, Sea in the Sky, 2007.Tsumugi-ito silk thread and vegetable dyes, 70⅞ × 51¼”. Collection of the artist

3.70 Sonoko Sasaki at work at her loom

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

The Japanese Tea Ceremony

Chanoyu (Way of the Tea) Ritual can take several hours

To find peace, quiet conversation

Rooted in Zen Buddhism – working toward Enlightenment

Tea masters highly trained

3.71 Sen no Rikyu, Taian teahouse, interior, c. 1582. Myoki-an Temple, Kyoto, Japan

3.72 Hon’ami Koetsu, Teabowl (called Mount Fuji), Edo period, early 17 th century. Raku ware, 3⅜” high. Sakai Collection, Tokyo, Japan

3.73 Hungry Tigress, panel from the Tamamushi Shrine, Horyu-ji Temple, Nara, Asuka period, c. 650. Lacquer on wood, shrine 7’7¾” high. Horyu-Ji Treasure House, Japan

3.74 Scene from the Tale of Genji. Heian period, first half of 12th century. Hand scroll, ink and color on paper, 8⅝ × 18⅞”. Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya, Japan

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Ukiyo-e

Japanese woodblock prints Easily reproducible for the masses

Inexpensive

“Pictures of the floating world” Capture moments in daily life

From Buddhist belief that life is fleeting

Scenes include geishas, actors, brothels, landscapes, and different classes of women

3.75 Kitagawa Utamaro, Two Courtesans, second half of 18th century. Woodblock print, 12⅝ × 7½”. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England

3.76 Mary Cassatt, The Child’s Bath, 1893. Oil on canvas, 39½ × 26”. Art Institute of Chicago

3.77 Katsushika Hokusai, “The Great Wave off Shore at Kanagawa”, from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, 1826–33 (printed later). Print, color woodcut. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

3.78 Yin and yang symbol

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Discussion question

1. In what ways are religion and philosophy reflected in artworks from Asia? Cite examples from India, China, and Japan.

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Discussion question

2. Humankind’s relationship with nature is a strong element in many artworks from Asia. Consider the artist’s interpretation of nature in three artworks introduced in this chapter.

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Discussion question

3. Chinese scroll paintings are a unique kind of artwork. Discuss the format of a scroll, how it is viewed, and the skills needed by the artist. How do these characteristics of scroll paintings differ from other kinds of painting you have studied?

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

Discussion question

4. Religious and political leaders often influence the kinds and quantities of artworks made in a certain time or culture. Cite two examples in which a ruler or leader impacted the art of Asia. What role did he or she play?

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Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

This concludes the PowerPoint slide set for Chapter 3.3

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts By Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

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PART 3HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Chapter 3.3 Art of India, China, and Japan

3.56 Drazen Tomic

3.57 iStockphoto.com

3.58 © Tom Hanley/Alamy

3.59 © Susanna Bennett/Alamy

3.60 © Frédéric Soltan/Sygma/Corbis

3.61 © Pep Roig/Alamy

3.62 Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Purchase F1942.15a

3.63 iStockphoto.com

3.64, 3.65, 3.66 Palace Museum, Beijing

3.67 Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection, 72.163a–b

3.68 Hunan Museum, Changsha

3.69 Courtesy the artist

3.70 Photo Shunji Ohkura

3.71 TRIP photographic library, photographer F. Good/Art Directors

3.72 Sakai Collection, Tokyo

3.73 Horyu-ji Treasure House, Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan

3.74 The Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya

3.75 V&A Images/Alamy

3.76 The Art Institute of Chicago, Robert A. Waller Fund, 1910.2

3.77 Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Prints & Photographs Division, H. Irving Olds collection, LC-DIG-jpd-02018

3.78 iStockphoto.com

Picture Credits for Chapter 3.3