exam 3

northern school vs southern school of painting

...northern= academic painting, style government propaganda southern= free, literati - shunned court life for a more personal art, chan Buddhist, freer more superior

Foguang Si Pagoda

1056 AD LIAO dynasty - liao emperors were important supporter of architecture, painting and sculpture ***tallest wooden building ever constructed, wooden most common and standard in Japan - pagoda= tower - building type is associated with Buddhism in China, most eye catching feature of Buddhist temple complex **resembles the tall towers of indian temples and Buddhist stupa - pagodas served as a focus for devotion to Buddha, housing sacred images and texts *** all together 9 story octagonal pagoda= the 5 main stories w/ balconies, and windowless mezzanines= combine elevation of 9 stories, 216 ft tall *** 5 main stories

Fan Kuan Travelers among Moutains and Streams (hanging scroll) compare to Ma Yuan (mountain path)

11th century AD -song dynasty -Fan was a daoist= believed nature was a better teacher than artists, spent days in mountains studying rocks trees moon and sun - master of recording light shade distance and texture - captured the essence of nature and its elements using brush and ink on silk - the painting is not to imitate/represent nature- its a tribute to nature - landscape continues in al directions beyond its border - shift perspective from elements from level ground to the top (cliffs) and the shift in perspective lead the viewers eye on a journey through the mountains -"texture strokes" help convey different surfaces, small brush marks used to make mountains = "raindrop stroke" - in essence you become the travelers as you stand in front of the scroll and look up and down - fog on the bottom helps to show how big mountains are

Shang Guang

12th-11th centuries BC shang dynasty funerary vessels, finest bronze in this era, used piece molds, shang bronzes show mastery in casting rivaling that of other ancient civilizations eyes of tiger, horns of ram, fish, birds, elephants, rabbits, horned animals in front and back used in rituals shang bronzes held water, wine, grain, meat for sacrificial rties

Wu Zhen Stalks of Bamboo by a rock

1347 AD Yuan dynasty - literati= were men and women from prominent families who emerged during the song dynasty they cultivated calligraphy, poetry, painting and other as a sign of social status and refined tastes -literati (scholar artists) this art is personal in nature and shows nostalgia from the past -red seals - hanging scroll - both the bamboo and the inscription gave him the opportunity to display proficiency with the brush - bamboo are complements to he black Chinese calligraphic characters

Liang Kai Sixth Chan Patriarch Chopping Bamboo chan Buddhism

13th century AD - new Chan Buddhism stressed the quest for personal enlightenment through meditation, enlightenment comes gradually after long meditation or can be sudden (north vs south) focused on cultivation of mind/spirit of individual in order to break through reality - Kai was a master of ink painting, Huineng crouching as he chops bamboo - chopping bamboo= ritual exercise - this moment "chan moment" when the sound of the blade striking the bamboo resonated within his spiritually mind to propel him through the final doorway to enlightenment - the man was scruffy= represents how physical appearance/signs of social status dot not burden his mind

Ma Yuan On a mountain path in spring

13th century AD -northern song period - compared to Fan Kuan, Ma reduced the landscape to a few elements and confined the natural setting to the foreground and the left side of the page *** landscape paintings such as this one show Chinese ideals of peace and unity with nature - large figure gazes into the infinite distance, diagonals of willow branches -upper right, bird flies toward couplet (2 lines) Ningzong added in ink (demonstrating mastery of both poetry and calligraphy)

Shen Zhou Lofty Mount Lu

1467 AD ming dynasty - hanging scroll, inscriptions and seals are essential elements, found at the peaks of the mountain - training in calligraphy was a fundamental part of the education of Chinese scholars, inscriptions are common on literati paintings - this poem praises a teacher - added seal impressions with red ink to identify themselves

Shakyamuni Buddha

338 AD period of disunity misrepresent- meditating Buddha (mudra)- shows unfamiliarity but has- cranial bump, handling of robe on Buddha, cross-legged position gilded bronze= medium used= bc represent Buddha as golden and radiating light, bronze covered in gold - decent 1st attempt Chinese had of making Buddha

The forbidden city

15th century AD ming dynasty - only emperor could walk through the central doorway -within the city= courtyards, gardens, temples, and other buildings that led to ---> Hall of Supreme Harmony where the emperor seated on his dragon throne received visitors, its the largest wooden building in china - thrown faces south, bc evil spirits travel in one direction, a lot of walls and gates to pass through, so this keeps the emperor and his family safe 5= Confucian principles ( 5 fingered dragons), 5th cardinal direction is the center (center is the middle kingdom) 3= 3 realms of the world 9, 99, 81 on door of gates- has 8 rows of dragons 4 gates- compass directions NSEW symmetry- order, Confucianism, achieve balance -big wall that blocks the evil spirits has 9 dragons yellow= imperial color, represents center of the world, yellow river red good fortune, south

Dong Qichang Dwelling in the Qingbian Mountains

1617 AD Ming dynasty - literati - he was a poet, calligrapher and painter - his view most Chinese landscape painters belonged to northern or southern school of painting - this painting belongs to the SOUTHERN SCHOOL (freer painting, southern chan Buddhist believed enlightenment could come suddenly, leading painter was a literati, whose freer expressive styles he thought were more superior) - first "modernist" painter bc this foreshadows the painting in 19th century European landscape painting - southern school- subject/style/inscription at the top= common to literati painters -towering mountains- towering rocks alternate with flat bands= flattening composition and creating highly abstract patterns

Funeral Banner of the Marquise of Dai

168 BC Han Dynasty painted silk banner, lays over coffin silk from caterpillar cocoons, farmers raise the caterpillars and before they transform they kill them and unwind the threads of filaments onto a reel, silk workers twist threads of silk together to eventually form thick yarn--> weave into yarn to produce silk cloth TOP--> heaven, dragons(messengers of prayer pass between earth/heaven, sun, moon, raven, CENTER--> marquise of dai itself bottom--> underworld, the funeral

Giuseppe Castiglione Auspicious Objects

1724 AD - Qing Dynasty - Giuseppe= Italian ambassador to the Qin court, missionary sent to China - sea trade= by the time he gets to China's court he starts to mix the styles from the west and east in one work - painted in honor of the 3rd Qing emperors birthday - Italian/Chinese painting style - eagle= imperial status, courage, military achievement -pine tree/rock= long life, (lingzhi) mushroom like plants that Chinese believed that if you ate you will promote long life 1) pine tree= longevity 2) rocks= solidness 3) red mushrooms= eat to give yourself a longer life 4) white eagle= courage, military, majestic, pure 5) water= life, pure, coolness

Shitao Man in the house beneath a cliff

17th century AD -Qing dynasty - surrounded figure in hut with vibrant free floating colored dos and contour lines - h experimented with extreme effects of massed ink and individualized brushwork patterns -he opposed mimicking earlier works an believed he cold not learn anything from the paintings of others unless he changed them

Ye Yushan Rent collection courtyard

1965 AD - sculptors depicted the exploitation of peasants by their merciless (w/o mercy, cruel) landlords during the rough time before the communist takeover in china - 100 yards long with life size figures, 114 figures - peasants worn down-> bring their taxes (in produce) to the courtyard of their landlords - message " this kind of thing must not happen again" - the man is saying that he cannot pay his taxes and is asking for mercy but they don't give him any= so he is thrown into jail until he can pay his taxes

Xu Bing A book from the sky

1987 AD - a large number of woodblock- printed texts, similar to Chinese writing but it was invented by the artist - producing them required knowledge of Chinese characters and training in block carving - " stinging critique of the meaninglessness of contemporary political language"

Wu Guanzhong Wild vines with flowers like pearls

1997 AD -fusion of traditional Chinese subject matter and technique with modern western abstract - used Literati like Shiato - merges western and eastern traditions in work - embraced the traditional Chinese medium of ink and color on paper - this work combines a subject matter of centuries old literati tradition - inspiration= mountainous landscape and forests of the Yangtze river - bold thick brushstrokes brilliantly balance abstract, crisscrossing lines with shapes of vines and flowers

Army of the first emperor of Qin (at Lintong)

210 BC Qin dynasty terracotta clay - china wasn't known for sculpture this early in history so this was 20th centuries greatest discovery -underground funerary palace designed to match the palace the emperor occupied in life -more than 7000 life size terracotta figures of soldiers and horses - also bronze horses and chariots - high organization of Qin workshop bc making this army of statues required army of sculptors and painters, need huge kilns - use same molds but assemble in different ways- so the stances, arm positions, equipment, facial features vary - stand in strict formation, social rank

Bi Disk

4th-3rd centuries BC **** testifies the Zhou sculptors mastery of the difficult material Neolithic period gateway, disk placed at crossroad between heaven and earth jade- rare stone jade- tough, hard, heavy, possessed magical qualities that could protect the dead jade- very hard to carve=expensive to make, becomes status symbol grinding and abrasion, polishing dragons in the middle- took log hours to pierce through the hard jade

Shakyamuni & Prabhutaratna **** meeting of 2 Buddha's symbolized the continuity of Buddhist thought across the ages

518 AD meeting of 2 Buddha's -gilded bronze statuette ** sculptors of northern wei dynasty transformed the gandhara- derived style of earlier Buddhist art in china - was a private devotional object in domestic setting or a offering in a temple - (RIGHT) Shakyamuni Buddha, and (LEFT) Prab. Buddha who achieved nirvana and was told in the story of LOTUS SUTRA (collection of Buddhists thoughts and poetry) story- Shakya. was preaching on vulture peak and Prab. stupa appeared in sky and Shakya. opened it and prab was there and said he would be there every time he preached lotus sutra -both have mandorla= flame like shape behind heads) - both lalitasana pose= one leg folded, the other hanging down= relaxation= ease of communication between the 2 Buddha's - bodies elongated proportions= smiling, sharp nose, almond eyes, garmets drop from shoulders down over the pedestal

Vairocana Buddha

676 AD Tang Dynasty- golden age carved into a cliff, when her husband (Gaozong of Tang emperor) died she (Wu Zetian) declared herself emperor and ruled, she = BUDDHA= personal message= she is enlightened/highest/shes about to become Buddha - cosmic Buddha- holds everything in hands, wisdom, wheel of law (if wheel would take human form it would be Vairocana) - this Buddha is the largest in the area= the wisdom of Buddhism is eternal/ immense, sits on lotus flowers= wisdom -surrounded by 2 monks, guardian angels and bodhisattvas--> they are like guiding angels, just about to cross over to enlightenment but stops bc they want to help others reach enlightenment - difference between Buddha ad bodhisattvas= bodhisattvas wear crowns and jewels

dragons symbolize

Chinese thought that dragons inhabited the water and flew between heaven and earth, bringing rain--> symbols of good fortune for East Asia symbolize the rulers power to medicate between heaven and earth