The Art of Chinese and

Japanese Sumi-e Painting

Westwood Regional Highschool Painting I-IV Mrs. Duffus 2009-2010

Sumi-e

(East Asian Brush Painting)

Started in China, and then in Korea and Japan…..

Tools

• “The Four Treasures” – Brush– Ink– Ink stone– Paper

• “Sumi” = ink• “-e” = painting

• Based on nature• As few strokes as possible

Created By: Linda Welling

Editied By: Thomas Field

6 principles of Sumi Painting1. Capture Chi- vital energy2. Create natural forms and structure with brush

technique3. Color can differ from object4. Depict object according to nature5. Composition

• 2/3 space, 1/3 form• No parallel lines• Overlap and create variations in stroke• Oblong paper

6. Develop own style

Subject matter of Sumi Painting

1. Poultry2. Birds3. Fish4. Shrimp5. Bamboo6. Butterflies 7. Bees8. Seasonal landscapes

Sumi`e Painting & The Four Gentlemen

Learning to master sumi`e brushstrokes and transform them into graceful forms of nature.

These plants embody the virtues of modesty, loyalty, purity, and integrity.

Linda Miller2006

The Four Gentlemen

Japanese Sumi`e PaintingTechniques, Examples

The Four Gentlemen

• The Four Gentlemen are the four plants that are needed to be mastered in order to become a master sumi`e painter. To master each plant takes years of study under excellent tutelage.

• They are called the Four Gentlemen because of their style and grace.• Each plant has certain brush strokes needed to complete it in the sumi`e style. As

you complete each plant you build on the brush strokes mastered, and learn new techniques for the next, more complicated plant.

• These brushstrokes are already familiar to you.• As we have learned, the Japanese style of painting creates asymmetrical balance,

thus creating empty space, and simplicity.• The Four Gentlemen are bamboo, the wild orchid, the chrysanthemum, and the

plum blossom branch.

The Four GentlemanThe Four Gentleman

Bamboo Wild Orchid

Chrysanthemum Plum Blossom Branch

Bamboo

The First GentlemanThe Father of brush painting, representing simplicity of life and humble spirit.

Bamboo represents Summer and is the most painted subject in East Asia. It represents strength in the face of adversity, and what the Japanese believe to be the virtues of the male - perfect balance, upright integrity, and tremendous flexibility.Bamboo is the “perfect gentleman” because at its center it is hollow, which suggests modesty, and it is always of service and used on a daily basis.

Real and Sumi`e Bamboo

• www,junglephotos.com/africa/ www.susanwagnerglass.com

• Bamboo grows in sections and from each section grows new branches and leaves.• Look and find the simple strokes, and see how the lifting of the brush tip creates the leaves.

Bamboo

• Bamboo is the first of the Four Gentlemen because it employs basic brush techniques. It allows the painter to express most anything in nature.

• By pulling the brush and lifting, you can build the sections of the bamboo stalk. The tip of the brush is then used to accent the breaks in the growth.

• The leaves are drawn by placing the tip down, applying pressure to the brush while pulling, and then lifting up to thin the outer tip of the leaf.

• Additional branches are painted the same way but smaller in size and from the growth joints

Professional Bamboo Examples

Courtesy of Nan Rae

Professional Sumi`e Bamboo

The Wild Orchid

The Second GentlemanThe Mother of brush painting, representing grace, beauty, and a happy spirit.

The wild orchid represents Spring and what the Japanese believe to be feminine virtues - beauty and grace, yet fragile and gentle.

The orchid invites you to celebrate life because it symbolizes reviving earth’s energy from the winter.

Real and Sumi`e Wild Orchids

• There are a variety of orchids available but the ones we will focus on are the orchids that have the long fluid leaves and small, fragile petals.

Wild Orchid

• The wild orchid uses the same basic stroke that is used to make most grasses.

• The techniques used in creating the wild orchid build on the techniques of the bamboo and its leaves, while the flow of your lines will teach you steadiness and versatility.

• To create the beauty of the turning leaves and the gentle petals, we will employ different ways of lifting and turning our brush.

• Cleaning the brush and adding a touch of sumi on the tip to change the value of the leaves, truly adding a new dimension to your painting.

Professional Wild Orchid Examples

Professional Sumi`e Orchids

Takumasa Ono Nan Rae

The ChrysanthemumThe Third Gentleman

The chrysanthemum is the imperial symbol of Japan’s royal family.The chrysanthemum represents Autumn because it is sturdy and it defies the

brutality of the frost.It associates fragrant plants with being strong and unwavering with the change

of the season.

Real and Sumi`e Chrysanthemum

Found at Naturgraphics.org

• In the chrysanthemum, simplicity is used in such a way that it becomes more complex or intricate.

• There are many different varieties of chrysanthemums, each with it’s own beauty.

Chrysanthemum

• The chrysanthemum is the third of the Four Gentlemen and it builds upon the brush strokes already learned in the previous Gentlemen.

• Layering and moving the gentle petals in different directions creates the inner beauty and complexity that is the flower.

• Adding water to the brush or less sumi can create beautiful variations in your flowers’ texture and beauty.

Professional Chrysanthemums

Found at ClearHarmony.net

Professional ChrysanthemumCourtesy Nan Rae

The Plum Blossom BranchThe Last of the Four Gentlemen

The plum blossom is the symbol of hope and endurance.It represents winter because it perseveres with life and

beauty within it. The plum blossoms are the first to bloom, signaling the end

of winter.The beauty of the plum blossom lies in the contrast of the

gnarled, rough trunk and the soft, tender blooms.

Real and Sumi`e Plum Blossom Branch

www.theorientalcaravan.com

Plum Blossom Branch• The Plum Blossom Branch is the last and most complicated of the Four

Gentlemen.• This plant incorporates all the strokes the artist has built on and takes it just a

step or two further.• The addition of creating the textured, gnarled branches takes some practice, as

well as manipulating the very tip of your brush to create the very center of your blossoms.

• The texture in the branch, the delicate flowers, pistols and stamens, they all take advantage of the knowledge you have learned with the previous three Gentlemen.

Professional Plum Blossom Branches

Professional Plum Blossom Branches

http://studioartcenter2.hypermart.net/wilders_sumie_web.jpg

The Four Gentlemen Project

Using your prior knowledge and additional practice, each student will create a sumi`e painting of with two

of their favorite Gentleman.

CreditsMusic by Steven Pasero

Professional Art Work courtesy ofSusan WagnerGlass ASIJ High School

Kodomon Inc Korean Arts.comFalun Gong practioner at Chongyang Festival

Tietracks.com Nature Graphics Majka Broulik Silver Dragon StudioCarol Chaplin The Oriental CaravanThe Sumi’e Book, by Yolanda Mavhall

End

Linda MillerArt Educator, 14 years

Gordon-Bibb and Benjamin Davis Magnet Elementary Schools

Decatur, Alabama35601

Su Dongpo (1036-1101)

•Influential during Song Dynasty•Talents and abilities were displayed in tightly composed images, but they lacked sincerity•Literati- Scholars , but amateur painters•Paintings were religious and philosophical •Changed aesthetics of Chinese Painting•Interesting story

Su Dongpo in Straw Hat and Wooden Shoes, Muromachi period (1392–1573), second half of 15th century, Japan, Artist UnknownHanging scroll; ink on paper 42 3/4 x 13 1/8 in. (108.6 x 33.3 cm)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/eaj/ho_1975.268.39.htm

Wu Zhen (1280-1354)

Bamboo in the Winds Yuan DynastyHanging scroll; ink on paper 109.0 x 32.6 cm (43 x 13 in.) Collection of Freer Gallery

http://www.chinapage.com/painting/wuzhen01.html

Xia Chang (Chinese, 1388–1470)

Bamboo in Wind, Ming dynasty, ca. 1460ChinaHanging scroll; ink on paper 80 1/4 x 23 1/2 in. (203.8 x 59.7 cm)

•Use of calligraphy established by Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322)•Bamboo is a symbol of integrity and strength

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ming/ho_1989.235.1.htm

Attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu (Japanese, 1434–1535)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/seim/ho_1975.268.44,45.htm

Bamboo in the Four Seasons, Muromachi period (1392–1573)Pair of six-panel folding screens; color, ink, and gold on paper 68 5/8 x 150 1/4 in. (174.3 x 381.6 cm)

Dong Qichang (Chinese, 1555–1636)

Landscapes, dated 1630Album of eight paintings; ink on paper 9 5/8 x 6 5/16 in. (24.4 x 16 cm)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ming/ho_1986.266.5.htm

Landscape and Chinese FiguresPair of six-panel folding screens; ink on gilded paper Each 67 3/8 x 146 3/4 in. (171.1 x 372.7 cm)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/09/eaj/ho_1975.268.75%2C76.htm

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=09&region=eaj

JAPAN 1600-1800 - Timeline

Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754–1799)

Huang Binhong (Chinese, 1864 - 1955)

Landscape at Madangshan, ca. 1940sHanging scroll, ink and colors on paper39 x 13 1/4 in. (99.1 x 33.7 cm)R. T. Miller, Jr. Fund, 1994AMAM 1994.10

http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Huang_Madangshang.htm#

Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891)

Autumn Grasses in Moonlight, Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1872–91Two-panel folding screen; ink, lacquer, and silver leaf on paper 26 1/8 x 69 in. (66.4 x 175.3 cm)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/10/eaj/ho_1975.268.137.htm

Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891)

Autumn Grasses in Moonlight, Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1872–91Two-panel folding screen; ink, lacquer, and silver leaf on paper 26 1/8 x 69 in. (66.4 x 175.3 cm)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/10/eaj/ho_1975.268.137.htm

Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891)

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/10/eaj/ho_1975.268.137.htm

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