de Beaufort AA ch18

1. Traditional Arts of Asia

2. 1
Historical Map of Asia

3. 1
India
Ancient Indus Valley
Between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago
Few works survive but beliefs written
in Vedas and Upanishads endure
Grow into Hindu concept of
reincarnation
Cycles of creation/destruction

4. 1
India
Carved male torso compared with
classical Greek Spear Bearer
Underlying bone structure difficult to see
Male Torso. Harappa, Indus Valley.
c.2400–2000 BCE.
Limestone. Height 3-1⁄2”.

5. 1
Buddhist Art
Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama
Jainism: Mahavira
Buddhist Art
•
Belief that to eliminate desire
(cause of suffering), one must
follow the moral code of
Eightfold Path
•
Stupa
Domelike structure evolved
from earlier burial mounds
axis mundi- “world Mountain”
• Four gates aimed in cardinal
directions
• Devout walked around its
ritual path
•
The Great Stupa. Sanchi, India. 10
BCE–15 CE.
Exterior

6. 1
Great Stupa at Sanchi
•
Built over a period of about
200 years
• Gateways include registers of
sculpture in relief
• Tell story of Buddha’s life
• Do not depict him directly
• Sensuality evident
The Great Stupa. Sanchi, India. 10 BCE–
15 CE.
A view of the Buddhist sculpture in
Sanchi temple.

7. Evolution of Buddhist Architecture.
“Stepped Tower”
Buddhist pagodas merged Indian stupa and Chinese watchtower- resulting stepped tower adopted and changed by
Japanese
• Early Indian stupa. 3rd century to early 1st century BCE. [Fig. 18-4a]
• Later Indian stupa. 2nd century CE. [Fig. 18-4b]
• Chinese pagoda. 5th to 7th centuries CE. [Fig. 18-4c]
• Japanese pagoda. 7th century CE. [Fig. 18-4d]

8. Buddhist Art
Gandhara (now Afghanistan/Pakistan)
East meets West:
• Distinctive style gained after Alexander
the Great’s conquest Combination of East
and West
• Bodhisattva, a person who delays
enlightenment to help others achieve it
• Sculptor shows knowledge of Roman,
Greek traditions –drapery technique
slight contrapposto
Bodhisattva. 2nd–3rd centuries.
N.W. Pakistan, Gandhara region

9. 1
Buddhist Art
Gupta Style
Gupta dynasty (c.320–540)
Noted for developments in politics, law, math, and the
arts
Carved stone Standing Buddha
• Simplified mass of the figure
drapery clings to body
Long earlobes refer to earlier aristocracy
• Topknot (manbun) symbolizes enlightenment
• No contrapposto
Standing Buddha. 5th century.
Red sandstone. Height 5’3”.

10. 1
Hindu Art
Principal gods of Brahmna (creator), Vishnu
(sustainer) , and Shiva (destroyer)
Hindu temples
Two parts:
1.
Porch for purification of worshipper
2.
Garba griha, Womb Chamber where an image
of the god is kept
Kandarya Mahadeva Temple
•
Garba griha marked by tall tower and smaller
replicas
Erotic scenes symbolize divine love in human
form /procreative energy
• Allegory of ultimate spiritual unity
• Natural beauty and fullness of human figure
Kandarya Mahadeva Temple.
Khajuraho, India. 10th–11th centuries. Exterior

11. Union with God analogous to sensuous pleasure of erotic love
Scene from Kandarya Mahadeva Temple, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Erotic reliefs. 1025–50, Chandella dynasty.

12. 1
Hindu Art
Shiva
Shiva as Lord of the Dance
• Cosmic Dance-performs within orb
of the sun
• Tramples monster of ignorance
• Purifying fire of destruction and
creation
• Implication of movement
• Multiple arms and gestures
Impassive, composed face
indicates nothing to fear
Shiva as Lord of the Dance. India (Tamil
Nadu) Late 12th–early 13th centuries.
Copper alloy. Height 24-3/4

13. Southeast Asia
Early Southeast Asian Art primarily
Buddhist (Indian influence)
Borobudur
Elaborate version of a stupa
Pilgrims walk, contemplate
landscape
Borobudur. c.800.
Java, Indonesia. Aerial view.

14. More than 10 miles of relief sculpture along corridors – stories duplicate journey of enlightenment
Lower levels- struggle of existence, death and re-birth. Higher levels images of Buddha
Borobudur Buddhist temple. Stonework reliefs in lower galleries

15. Southeast Asia
Influenced by Borobudur
blend of Buddhism/Hinduism
Khmer Empire
Masters of irrigation
Faces due west
Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and
Hindu gods appearing to be
portraits of real rulers
Originally surrounded by a
moat
Emphasis on fertility (towers
as flower buds)
Ruler thought himself
descendant of Vishnu
Angkor Wat. Cambodia.
c.1120–50.
West entrance.

16. China
Interaction of traditions of
Confucianism, Daoism, and
Buddhism(imported from India) prior
to the modern period
Art of Ancient China
• Shang Dynasty-Bronze objects
• Ritual vessel
• Intricate composite animal forms
• Taotie mask (composite monster)
• Rituals Honor ancestors
Beliefs evolving into Confucianism
Ritual Vessel. China. 12th century BCE.
Cast bronze. Height 7-1⁄8”.

17. 1
Art of Ancient China
Concern for Afterlife:
Emperor Qin Shihuangdi
Unified China before death in 210 BCE
Intent upon guarding his afterlife
About 6,000 Terra Cotta Warriors to
protect him
Terra Cotta Warriors. Pit No. 1,
Museum of the First Emperor of Qin.
Shaanxi Province, China.
Qin dynasty, c.210 BCE.

18. 1
The Chinese Painting
Tradition
Combines calligraphy and landscape
Painting and writing closely related (poems often included in
paintings)
Same brushes and ink used for both
Fan Kuan, Travelers Among Mountains and Streams
• Kuan regarded as greatest landscape painter of Song dynasty
(960–1279)
• Imaginative creation intended to capture the energy of
nature, not a real place
Massive cliffs in vertical composition (power of scale)
• Textured details from specific brushwork “raveled rope”,
“raindrops”, “ax cuts”
Fan Kuan. Travelers Among Mountains and Streams. Song
dynasty. Early 11th century.
Hanging scroll. Ink on silk. Height 81-1⁄4”

19. The Chinese Painting
Tradition
Song dynasty displaced in 1125 by
Mongol Invasion
New painting style developed in
Southern Hangzhou
Emphasized smaller, intimate
landscape (monumental vs personal)
Ma Yuan, Watching the Deer by a Pine-
Shaded Stream
• Meticulous brushwork fades into
mist
• Off-balance composition
• “One Corner Ma”
Ma Yuan. Watching the Deer by a Pine-
Shaded Stream. Southern Song
dynasty.
Album leaf. Ink on silk. 9-1⁄2” × 10”.

20. 1
The Chinese Painting
Tradition
Development of Chinese painting in
Ming and later dynasties
Academic(conservative) versus
Literati (playful) styles
Bada Shanren-recluse, faked being
insane
Cicada on a Banana Leaf
Free execution with subtle political
comments Cicada a symbol of rebirth
(persecuted Ming dynasty by Qing
dynasty)
Bada Shanren. Cicada on a Banana
Leaf. Qing dynasty. 1688–1689. Leaf
“f “ from an album Flowers and Birds.
Ink on paper.

21. 1
Japan
Architecture
Shinto
Religion of nature and
ancestor worship
Gods dwell in forests,
fields, waterfalls, huge
stones
Ise Shrine
•
Rebuilt every 20 years
• Sacred site within a
forest
• No paint or nails
• Combines simplicity
with subtlety
Main Shrine. Ise, Japan.
c.685
Rebuilt every 20 years.

22. 1
Architecture
Katsura Detached Palace
Connection to Nature
Blend of human-made and
natural elements
Sliding screens allow indoor-
outdoor flow
No grand entrance
Tea house
• Constructed of common
natural materials
Embodies attitudes of
simplicity, naturalness,
and humility
Katsura Detached Palace.
Kyoto, Japan. 17th century.
Gardens and tea house.

23. 1
Katsura Detached Palace. Kyoto, Japan. 17th century. Imperial villa and
gardens

24. 1
Zen Buddhism
Enlightenment through meditation
Enlightenment can come suddenly
Sesshu
• Buddhist priest
• Adapted Chinese style
• Simplified explosive style called haboku
• “flung ink”
Haboku, Splashed Ink Landscape
• Inspired by Southern Song masters
• Suggestion of lines and forms
Sesshu Toyo. Haboku, Splashed Ink Landscape. 1400s–early 1500s.
Hanging scroll. Ink on paper. 28-1⁄4” × 10-1⁄2”.

25. 1
Sculpture, Painting, and Prints
Ukiyo-e
• Popular style of woodcut printing "Pictures of the
floating world"
• Scenes of daily life
• Landscapes, entertainers, and actors
Kitagawa Utamaro, Reflected Beauty
• Ordinary subject into memorable image
• Flat shapes with lack of shading
• Cropped composition (incidental- like
photograph)
Kitagawa Utamaro.
Reflected Beauty, Seven Beauties Applying Make-Up:
Okita. c.1790.
Woodblock print. 14-1⁄4” × 9-1⁄2”