Andrew Maude Emily Nadelmann

Samantha D’Onofrio

Chinese and Korean Art After 1279

Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368)

Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

Modern Period (1911- Present)

Periods of Control- China

Mongols established northern capital in Beijing

Combined the tensions of Yuan rule, separation of Chinese political and cultural centers created a new situation dynamic in the arts

Literati (cultural elite) painting came to be grouped with calligraphy and poetry as a trio of accomplishments

Yuan Dynasty ( 1279-1368)

The literati elevated the status of painting so they were totally separate from and superior to traditional painting

The Yuan dynasty continued the imperial role of patron of the arts commissioning building and murals, gardens, paintings, and decorative arts

Scholars now tended to turn inward to search for solution of their own to try to express themselves in personal and symbolic terms

The Literati

Most famous piece- Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains

Piece depicts the mountains of Shandong province

1296, handscroll, ink and color on paper. 11 ¼ x 36 inches

Not painted in the modern naturalistic period of his time, but the archaic period of the Tand dynasty (618-907)

Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322)

Common techniques were unassuming brushworks, and subtle colors used sparingly

The landscape was created to covey personal meaning (drawing from one literati to another)

the literati did not create works for public display but for each other

Favored small formats such as hand scrolls, hanging scrolls, and album leaves(book pages)

Easily could be shown to friends at small gatherings

Pieces usually entirely done in ink

Calligraphy popularly used to describe meaning

Mediums and Techniques

•They favored handscrolls, hanging scrolls, or album leaves

Ni Zan created the Rongxi Studio

Done completely out of ink

1372, hanging scroll, ink on paper. 29 3/8 inches

It depicts the lake district of Ni’s hometown

It is sketched with minimum detail using dry brush technique (brush not fully loaded with ink)

Rongxi Studio

Style has a sense of simplicity and purity

Embodies the Literati style

It is believed to reflect a painter s personality

Zan’s style became associated with noble spirit, many other painters pay homage to it

Ni Zan (1301-74)

Contrast between luxury of the court and austere ideals of the literati continued

Founded by Tai Zu who came from the poor uneducated class

Worked his way up to power through military

Drove Mongols from Beijing and established himself as emperor – establishing the Ming Dynasty

He grew to distrust intellectuals

His rules was despotic and ruthless

Court taste in the arts changed with rule

Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)

Large painting on silk by Yin Hong

Late 15th-early 16th century, hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, 7’10 ½ inches

Painted during the late 15th and early 16th centuries

Example of bird and flower genre

Homage of birds to peacocks is symbolic to the homage of the court officials to the emperor

Much of the piece reflects the ideals of the Song academy

Hundreds of Birds Admiring Peacocks

A bolder and less constrained landscape style

Roots in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province where the Southern Court was located

Influenced Korean + Japanese painters

Zhe StyleReturning Home from a Spring Outing (Dai Jin)

•Reflects Chinese sources for An Gyeon + Sesshu•Hanging scroll on silk•167.8 x 83.1 cm

The preeminent professional painter in the Ming period

Painted beautiful long hand scrolls

Started painting to satisfy patrons

Studies Tang paintings- concentrated on figures, leaving out the background entirely

Qui Ying (1492-1552)

Spring Dawn in the Han Palace

•Detail of sections•the piece depicts women in the court of the Han dynasty •Long handscroll on silk•1’ x 18’ 13/16 inches

Extremely famous in the Ming Dynasty

Exquisite ceramics made of porcelain

The imperial kilns in Jianqxi province became the most renowned center for porcelain in the world

Lotus leafs drawn with glazed covering, showed high achievement of Ming artists

Noteworthy for their blue + white wares

Mainly produced during the reign of the Xuande Emperor (1426-1435)

Ming Blue and White Wares

Most famous remaining example of Chinese architecture is the Forbidden city, the imperial palace compound in Beijing

City planning began in the 7th century in China

Mongols made the basic plan- city laid out-traditional Chinese principles

Walled city, with a rectangular grid, with evenly spaced streets, running east, west, north and south

Northern end is where imperial complex is located

Emperor’s role as the son of heaven- his

duty to maintain the cosmic order from his throne in the middle of the world

Architecture and City Planning of the Ming

The Forbidden City’s balance and symmetry reflect ancient Chinese beliefs about the harmony of the universe

Beijing was laid in a similar format

Many halls located inside The Forbidden City

Courtyards included ponds, that connected to waterways, that with bridges

Marble detailing throughout

Emperor’s throne was located in the Hall of Supreme Harmony

The characteristics of the literati influence on architecture was very similar to painting

Map of the Forbidden City

Literati influence furniture as well

16th + 17th Centuries: Chinese furniture made for domestic use reached the height of its development

Constructed without the use of glue or nails

Pieces fit together based on principle of mortise-and-tenon joint, one piece fits snuggly into the cavity of another

This style represented simplicity, clarity, symmetry, and balance all literati ideals

Furniture

Known more today as tong and grove

Modern Day Reference

Many literati surrounded their homes with gardens

Most famous gardens: southern cities of the Yangzi River (Chang Jiang) delta, especially in Suzhou

Art of Landscape GardeningThe Garden of the Cessation of Official Life

•1/3 of garden is devoted to water through artificially created brooks + ponds•Pavilions, kiosks, libraries, studios + corridors•Many buildings have poetic names

high official in late Ming period- poet, calligrapher, + painter

literati theorist, who summarized views on proper training for literati painters

famous statement “Read ten thousand books and walk ten thousand miles.”

21’8 x 7’4 3/8 inches-1617

Don Qichang, Literari Theorist

Poet on A Mountain Top

•Focuses on the poet who dominates the scene

•Poet on top of the mountain

•not a real focus on landscape

1644- Manchu people to the northeast of China marched into Beijing and gained control of all of China

Manchus had already many Chinese customs + institutions before their conquest

Manchus showed respect for Chinese tradition- continued to follow literati approach

Ming trends continued into the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

Painted “A Thousand Peaks and Myriad Ravines” in 1693

Exemplified basic Chinese landscape painting, featuring: mountains, rivers, waterfalls, trees, rocks, temples, pavilions, houses, bridges, boats, wandering scholars, and fishers

Wang Hui (1632-1717)

•Hanging scroll, 1693, 8’2.5 x 44.5’

All aspects of Chinese art modernizing

Landscape still remains important subject

New ideas filtered in from around the globe

Calligraphy also plays an important role

Chinese artists now have joined the international avant-garde

Modern Period (1911- Present) Pine Spirit

•Wu Guanzhong- new aged Chinese artist

•1984, Ink and color on paper, 2’3 5/8 x 5’3.5 inches

•Abstract expressionism

Korean Art The Joseon Dynasty to the Modern Era

1392- General Yi Seonggye overthrew the Goryeo dynasty and established the Joseon Dynasty

Capital: originally Gaeseong, but moved to Seoul in 1394

Rejected Buddhism- advocating Neo-Classicism as state philosophy

China’s Ming Dynasty was a model- copied Ming emperors + blue-and-white porcelain

Early Joseon Era: invented Han’geul (alphabet), the rain gauge, astrolabe, celestial globe + water clock

The Joseon/Yi Dynasty (1392-1920)

Joseon potters excelled in the manufacture of ceramics

Ceramics were influenced by Chinese wares of that period, but they didn’t copy them directly

Joseon Ceramics

Stoneware descended from Goryeo celadons

Use of white slip- stoneware resembles white porcelain

15th century: slip is inlaid into repeating design elements stamped into the body

16th century: embellished w/ fluid, calligraphic brushwork painted in iron-brown slip on white slip background

Most buncheong wares have floral décor, some feature pictorial decoration

1592-1597: Japanese armies invaded the Korean peninsula destroyed buncheong kilns + took buncheong potters

home with them to produce buncheong style-wares

Buncheong Wares

Buncheong ware that features pictorial decoration

Fresh, lively brushstrokes- a bird w/ outstretched wings grasps a fish that it has just caught in its talongs; waves roll below, while 2 giant lotus blossoms frame the scene

Horizontal Wine Bottle with Decoration of a Bird Carrying a Newly

Caught Fish

Beginning in 15th century- Korean potters produced porcelains w/ designs in underglaze cobalt blue

Inspired by Chinese Ming porcelains

Porcelain kilns- 30 miles south of Seoul

Painting on best Korean porcelains resembled that on paper or silk

16th + 17th century: Korean porcelains feature designs painted in underglaze iron bronze rather than blue

Korean jars have bulging shoulders, slender bases + short, vertical necks in the 17th century

Painted Porcelain

Secular painting continued Goryeo traditions- employed Chinese styles + formats

Range of subjects expand from botanical motifs to include landscapes, figures, + a variety of animals

Joseon PaintingDream Journey to the Peach Blossom

Land- An Gyeon- 1447

•Illustrates tale by Chinese poet Tao Qian•15.25’ x 41’ 7/8 inches•Recounts a dream about chancing upon a utopia secluded from the world for centuries while meandering among the peach blossoms of spring

18th century- truly Korean style emerged

Silhak “practical learning” movement- emphasized the study of things Korean in addition to the Chinese classics

Jeong Seon chose well-known Korean vistas as the subjects of his paintings, rather than the Chinese themes favored by earlier artists Painted representations of the Diamond

Mtns,

Sin Yunbok active in late 18th, early 19th century- typically painted aristocratic figures in native Korean garb

The Silhak MovementPanoramic View of the Diamond

Mountains- Jeong Seon

Picnic at the Lotus Pond- Sin Yunbok

“The Hermit Kingdom”- Korea closed its borders to most of the world, except China, until 1876

1910- Japan annexed Korea- ended the Joseon Dynasty

self-imposed isolation, colonial occupation (1910-45), World War II (1939-45), + the Korean War (1950-53) impeded Korea’s artistic + cultural development during the first half of the twentieth century

Modern Korea

Despite isolation- modern influences reached Korea indirectly via China + Japan

1920s-30s: few Korean artists experimented w/ contemporary Western styles (Cezanne or Ganguin) and sometimes tried abstract, nonrepresentational styles

Gim Hwangi- artist influenced by constructivism + geometric abstraction- would become one of 20th centuries most influential painters

Modernism in Korea5-IV-71

•1971•Oil on canvas•100 x 100 cm