Fine & Applied Arts                                                                         Dr. Roxanne Farrar

 

CHINESE LANDSCAPE PAINTING IN CONTEXT

 

I.            INTRODUCTION:

            Map of China

            Hand-out: Chronology of Dynastic China

 

II.            T’ANG DYNASTY (618-907):

THE SILK ROAD:

            Bactrian Camel with Packsaddle, Glazed Earthenware

RELIGIOUS CONTEXTS: BUDDHISM:

            Seated Buddha, Sandstone

            The Western Paradise of Amitabha Buddha, Cave Wall Painting

SOCIAL CONTEXTS: COURTLY LIFE:

            Four Ladies of the Court Playing Polo, Unglazed Painted Earthenware

            Palace Ladies Tuning a Lute, Ink on Silk, 12th century copy of a T’ang original

            Palace Ladies Preparing Silk, Ink on Silk, 12th century copy of a T’ang original

            Hui-tsung,Five-Colored Parakeet, Ink on Silk, 12th century copy of a T’ang

 

III.       AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE PAINTING:

FORMS OF CHINESE PAINTING:  Hanging Scroll;  Handscroll;  Album Leaf

MATERIALS:  Paper & Silk;  Brushes;  Ink & Pigments;  Painting Methods

CHINESE COLLECTORS:

            Imperial Collection of Emperor Hui-tsung (1100-1125, Sung Dynasty)

            Owners’ Seals & Other Embellishments;  Collection Catalogues

 

IV.       SUNG DYNASTY (960-1279):

SOCIAL CONTEXTS:  Military Decline;  Introspection

PHILOSOPHICAL CONTEXTS:  TAOISM:

            Cosmic Forces of li (idea) and qi (matter)

            Sung Landscape Painting as an Artistic Expression of Neo-Confucianism

NORTHERN SUNG (960-1127):

            Fan Kuan, Travelers Among Mountains & Streams, Hanging Scroll

            Li Ch’eng, Solitary Temple Amid Clearing Peaks, Hanging Scroll

SOUTHERN SUNG (1127-1279):

            Hsia Kuei, Twelve Views of a Landscape, Handscroll

RELIGIOUS CONTEXTS: MAHAYANA BUDDHISM:

            The Water & Moon Kuan-yin Bodhisattva, Polychromed Wood

            The Paradise of Buddha, Wall Painting (Yuan Dynasty, 1260-1328)

 

V.        MING DYNASTY (1368-1644):

            Ch’en Shun, Lotus, Handscroll

            Tung Ch’i-ch’ang, Landscape After the Style of Wang Meng, Album Leaf

“A painter must learn first from

the ancient masters,

then from nature, and

finally from his own mind.”