Arts of China

An introduction to the history of Chinese Art from its beginnings in neolithic times until the start of the eighteenth century. Topics will include the ritual bronze vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Chinese transformation of the Buddha image, imperial patronage of painting during the Song dynasty and the development of the literati tradition of painting and calligraphy. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the cultural context of Chinese art.
Longmen Cave 19

Arts of Japan

A survey of the history of Japanese art from neolithic times to the present. Topics will include Buddhist art and its ritual context, the aristocratic arts of the Heian court, monochromatic ink painting and the arts related to the Zen sect, the prints and paintings of the Floating World and contemporary artists and designers such as Andō Tadao and Miyake Issey. The class will focus on the ways Japan adopts and adapts foreign cultural traditions.

Course Syllabus 2004

Utamaro Reflective Love
Sesshu Winter Landscape

Approaches to Chinese Painting

 

A survey of the Chinese pictorial tradition from the Han to the Qing dynasties, focusing in particular on the development of the landscape idiom, but considering bird and flower painting and the narrative tradition as well. The course will explore the difference between Western methodological approaches to Chinese painting and the theories of painting developed by the Chinese themselves.

 

 

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