Art History : Notes (2011)

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Civil Service Exam was ticket to success

Ni Zan, The Rongxi Studio 1372

·      Monochrome

·      The pavilion in painting is subordinated to landscape

·      Mi Dots express artist personality

Literati-  Artists well-educated in literature, calligraphy, painting and philosophy, and a style of painting made by those artists

·      Intimate scales or formats

·      Black and white

·      Focus on landscape and natural world

·      Calligraphy seen as superior art form

Mi Dots

·      Reference to past styles

·      Add a punctuation for the image.

·      Heavy dark color

Guan Daosheng,  from Bamboo Groves in Mist and Rain, 1308

·      Symbolizm Bamboo related to masculinity and men qualitys because it is strong and doesn’t break.

·      Bamboo also reference to marital life.  Total devotion to their husbands

Zhao Mengfu

·      Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains, Yuan Dynasty, 1296

o   References to Mengfus homeland

o   Looking back to Tong dynasty

o   Landscape, poems inscribed on top. à literati

o   Minimal use of color

o   Incredibly detailed literati painting

·      Two Pines, Level Distance, 1310

o   Drawn on paper

o   Flying white brush strokes

§  Whiteness that comes through the ink

o   Relationship between ink and paper (negative and positive balance), and relationship between space.

o   Wants to bring calligraphy and painting together

§  Both offer self expression and show you the personality of the artist

Shen Zhou, Poet on a Mountaintop, 1500

·      Landscape

·      Mi Dots

·      Monochrome (black and white)

·      Harmony between informal calligraphy and brush strokes

·      Lone figure (rejected from world?)

·      Alba leaf (part of a book)

·      Progression of Literati no longer oppositional

·      More detailed than other literati

·      Not many stamps in image

·      Man standing up on top of mountain looks very big, dialogue between poet and the poem

Ax-cut brushstrokes

·      Used to depict rocks or cliffs

Ma Yuan, Scholar and Servant on a Terrace, Southern Song Dynasty, 1200

Dong Qichang, The Qingbian Mountains, 1617

·      Very condensed

·      Celebrating both northern and southern school of lit

9/8/2010

Great Wall of China, restored and expanded under Ming Dynasty

·      Symbol of Ming strength/power

Yongle Emperor (ruled 1402-24)

·      Altar to Heaven, Beijing, Ming Dynasty

o   Emperor roles

§  Chief administration of the nation

ú  Tax

ú  Agriculture

ú  Foreign relation

§  Cultural Leader

ú  Skilled in poetry, calligraphy, literati

§  Ritual Leader

ú  Systematic rituals (more than 90 a year) to maintain relationship with people/heaven

o   Temple grounds confined within a rectangle.

§  Circle within a square is symbolic for interrelationship between heaven and earth

o   Heaven,  Earth, Emperor (3 things)

Gate of Heavenly Peace at the Imperial Palace, Tiananmen Square

·      3 gates

o   method of exclusion (forbidden city)

·      Designed as a watchtower

Meridian Gate

·      Wall of the Palace

·      Intended to humble people who walk up to it, very tall

Golden Stream and gate of Supreme Harmony

·      Opens to outer city (3 govt buildings)

·      Provides nature 5 bridges, direction(N,S,E,W,Center).  Bridges used for rituals or ceremonies

Hall of Supreme Harmony

·      3 sets of stairs

·      2 five-clawed dragons

·      Interior

o   Coffering: Decorative square panels used on ceilings to reduce weight and provide omamentation.

Foguang Si, 847 AD, T’ang Dynasty

·      Oldest Chinese Buddhism

o   Comprised a system of bays (building block of a square)

o   Elaborate Mortise and Tenon graphics

Hall of Complete Harmony

Hall of Preserving Harmony

·      Deliberate walkway to get into building

Palace of Heavenly Purity

Palace of Earthly Peace

·      “honeymoon suite”

·      double happiness symbol (marriage)

·      public looking space with writings and insignias

Hall of Mental Cultivation

·      Movement from public to very private

·      Recession from outer to inner

o   In order to define private  (secretcy), you also need public spaces

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Hall of Mental Cultivation at the Imperial Palace

Yongzheng Emperor- built

Qianlong Emperor- expanded

·      Room where emperor would meet visitors and do calligraphy

·      10 virtues an emperor should have

o   review heaven / pay tribute to

o   take care of people

Hall of Three Rarities

·      Texts, calligraphy, arts

·      Three pieces of ancient calligraphy

·      Trompe l’oeil: painting- trick the eye

o   Appearance of natural space but give illusion of being three dimensional

Guisppe Castiglione (Lang Shining)

·      Study for  Spring’s Peaceful Message,  after 1736

Pavilion of One Thousand Autums, Qianlong Garden

·      Heavy bracket tiled roof

·      Circle within square

·      Ancient Chinese architecture

Pavilion for Bestowing Wine, Qianlong Garden

·      Taihu Rocks: Rocks from Tai Lake, used as ornaments in garden,

o   represent wisdom and immortality

Hall of Piled High Excellence, Qianlong Garden

·      Maze/pathway through rocks to get to top

Portrait of the Kangxi Emperor, Qing Dynasty

·      Visage Portrait:  A pictorial style that rejects any depiction of physical environment, bodily movement of facial expression

Qing Dynasty

·      Kangxi Emperor

·      Yongzheng Emporer

o   Daoist Magician summoning a fierce dragon from  Alburn of Yongzheng Emperor in Costume

o   Tibetan Buddhist monk

o   European hunting a tiger

o   Fisherman

·      By representing all these paintings it is saying that he is one man under heaven (mandate of heaven)

o   Obscure image by these costumes.  Unknowable to anybody

·      Qianlong Emporer

Guiseppe Castiglione, Coronation portrait of Qianlong Emperor, The Empress, and Eleven Consorts, 1736

·      Follow pictorial traditions

·      More shading

Guiseppe Castiglione, Tartar Envoys Present Horses to Qianlong Emperor, 1757

Lacquer and cloisonné writing set.  Lacquer-Wooden pore, sticky sap and applied in layers.  Cloisonne- colored glass that is painted onto metal for decorative means

Jingdezhen, Plate, 1735-96 Qing Dynasty, Qianllang period

·      Famile rose - plate  (1722-35) Yongzheng period

o   Bat symbol of happiness

o   Peaches symbol of longevity

§  Birthday wish to live a long life

·      Famile verte – vase (1683-1722) Kanxi Period

o   Over glaze enamels

Muromachi period- 1392-1573.  Capital: Kyoto

Momayama period 1573-1615. Capital: Kyoto

Edo period.  1615-1868. Capital Edo

·      Zen master

o   Attained enlightenment.  Takes monks and instructs them through meditation

o   Escape Samsara

§  Continuous flow

Bunsei, Landscape, Muromachi period, mid 15^th century

·      Zen paintings in demand

·      Hanging scrolls

·      Outline of trees

·      Strong amount of negative or white space.  Indicated water

Ni Zan, The Rongxi Studio, Yuan dynasty, 1392

Sesshu, Wintry Landscape, Muromachi period, 1470

·      Spontaneous painting?

o   Visual document of meditation’

Josetu, “Cataching a Catfish with a Gourd, Muromachi period

·      Koan: a statement or question used to focus meditation in Zen practice.

Ikkyu, Caligraphy Pair from Daitoku-ji, Muromachi period, mid 15th century

·      Document of whats on his mind

Rock Garden, Ryoan-ji, Kyoto, Muromachi period, 1480

·      Document of practice

o   Walking meditation

§  Enlightenment

o   Raking stones of garden

§  Stillness

ú  Rocks don’t move unless attended by garder

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Muromachi period- 1392-1573.  Capital: Kyoto

Momoyama period 1573-1615. Capital: Kyoto

Edo period.  1615-1868. Capital Edo

Misako Takeuchi, “The meaning of Pattern in Rimpa School Painting: Mitate and Visual Imagery” in Apollo vol 141 no. 396    (3-10)

Himeji Castle, 83 buildings surrounded by moat

·      Defensive structure

·      Interlocking rocks à resistant to fire

Kano Eitoku, Pine and Cranes, Daitoku-ji, Momoyama Period, 1563-73

·      Kano Masanobu, Zhou Maoshu Viewing Lotus Flowers, Muromachi period

o   Flowers refers to zen (popular during Muromachi)

o   Tatami:  Mats of woven straw used in Japanese interiors as Floor covering and unit measurement

o   Fusuma: Sliding doors covered with paper

Kano Zaizen, Pair of Namban Screens, Momoyama Period

·      Temple and foreigners running around (Portugese)

·      Decorative and abstract use of space

o   Land, water

o   Dreamlike sort of space, surrounded by “golden clouds”

Tawaraya Sotatsu, Matsushima Screens, Edo Period, 17^th century

·      If one wants to link, then one can

·      Fabric containing the image as a frame

·      Cypress tree from top, on cliff (right corner)

o   Tarashikomi:  Dripping pigment onto wet pigment

Ogata Korin, Irises and Bridge, Edo period, after 1709

·      Tales of Ise

·      Mitate:  Hidden meaning, usually a literary allusion

Ogata Korin, Lacquer Box for Writing Implements, late 17^th century

·      Reference to a place where poetry has been made.

Kosode, Edo Period, early 19^th century

·      Kimono

o   Type of clothing, short sleeves.

o   Pictorial representation

Decoration, ostentation, luxury

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Tawaraya Sotatsu and Hon’ami Koetsu, Poem scroll with Deer. Edo, 17^th cent

·      Calligraphy/painting

·      Highlighted background

·      Abstraction

·      Quick brush stroke to articulate animal

·      Hidden meaning in paintings

·      Allows viewer to get fuller experience

Sen no Rikyu, Tai-an Tearoom, Momoyama period, 1582

·      Peaceful

Inside:

o   Tokonoma  a niche for the display of an art object in a tea house

§  Warriors brought to space

§  Artwork is used to govern what the mood is

o   Wabi (poverty)  a suggestion of simplicity, humility, and artlessness

o   Sabi (lonliness)  the tranquility of being alone

o   Shibui (bitter) elegant restraint

Style of Chojiro, Black raku teabowl, 16^th cent (late)

·      Raku:  A type of hand molded, lead glazed, low-fired pottery, usually resulting in irregularity shaped and glazed wares.  Commonly associated with the Japanese tea ceremony.

Korea, Buncheong style bowl, 16^th century

·      Ceramic used for peasants- ricebowl

Edo Period strict control over the movement of citizen.  Restrictive society.  Resist foreign ideas. 

·      Tokugawa Ieyasu

Nagasawa Rosetsu, Bull and Puppy, Edo Period (1615-1868)

·      Architectural focus (panels)

·      Golden/monochrome background

o   Tonality

o   Focus on huge bull

o   Decorative/rhythmic

o   Appeal to merchant class (has own aesthetic value)

o   Asymmetrical contrast between large and small

Japanese Woodblock Prints

·      Quick and Cheap.  Black and white images

·      Ukiyo-e: (“Pictures of the floating world”).  Artwork, often woodblock prints, popular during the Edo Period that pictured scenes of entertainment, everyday life, celebrities, landscapes

o   Meant to be a pleasurable imagination of what things should be

Utagawa Kunimasa, Untitled “Beauty Picture”, Edo Period, 1796

·      Flatness repetitive patterns

Suzuki Harunobu, Geisha as Daruma Crossing the Sea, 1760-1770

·      Multicolor/polychrome woodblock painting

·      Carved design in the wood

o   Each color is a separately carved woodblock

o   Designer, carver, printer, publisher (4 person workshops involved in making a print)

§  Collaboration of skills

·      Daruma is so light that he is able to cross the sea

o   Graceful, harmonious

Hakuin Ekaku, Bodhidaruma Meditating, Edo Period

Totoya Hokke, Raiko Attacks a Demon Kite, 1825

·      Actor portrait

o   Costume

·      Heightened dramatic tension

·      Different woodblock for each color

Hokusai Katsushika, “The Great Wave”, from 36 views of Mt Figi, Edo Period, 1830-33

·      National symbol of Japan

·      Iconic image

o   Influential image because of strong decorative tradition. (Rimpa)

·      Fugi is the unifying element in the 36 views of Mt figi.

·      Clawlike movement of the wave

·      Genre scene (people fishing) taken over by graphic wave.

Rimpa- abstract. People feel pioneered.