THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

General Education Centre

GEC1C28W
Contemporary Chinese & Western
Art and Cultural Interactions
Medium of Instruction : English
Contact Hours : 39 hours
Teaching period : 6 Sept – 29 Nov 2019 (Fridays)
Lecture Time: 12:30 – 3:20pm
Venue: Y410
Offering Department: General Education Centre
Subject Teacher: Dr. Silvia Fok
Email: gesfok@ polyu.edu.hk
Tel: 3400-3152
Office: A510
 Objectives
Tracing art and cultural interactions between Europe, North
America and Asia in particular in China and Japan since the
16th century, this subject will discuss how contemporary
Chinese art in the late 20th and early 21st century has
emerged along with its western counterparts. Stylistic
changes will be analyzed and they will be placed within the
contexts of production, reception and consumption of art in
China and elsewhere. A comparative approach to different
aesthetic theories and cultural values will be adopted so as to
raise the students’ awareness of different history, cultures
and worldviews.

3
 Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the subject, students will be able to:
1.Recognize the$major$artistic$styles$and$interactions$
between$Western$art$and$Asian$art;
2.Identify1the$major$artistic$styles$in$contemporary$China;
3.Explain the$different$artistic$communities$active$in$different$
periods$of$time;
4.Describe the$significant$landmark$exhibitions$that$help$
foster$the$development$of$contemporary$Chinese$art;
5.Evaluate critically$the$overall$development$of$
contemporary$Chinese$art$from$the$local$and$international
perspectives;
6.Enhance students’$literacy$skills$in$reading$and$writing.
4
Teaching/Learning,Methodology
Lectures
This%subject%will%be%mainly%taught%in%the%lecture%format%with%
visual%examples%and%video:based%images.%Each%lecture%will%be%
aligned%with%one%piece%of%reading%material.%Students%will%be%
asked%to%read%the%material%before%coming%to%class.%In%each%
lecture,%15%minutes%will%be%allocated%for%question%and%answer%
session.%Such%an%interactive%environment%will%allow%
participating%students%to%reflect%in%real%time%upon%some%of%the%
materials,%bringing%up%their%questions%which%require%further%
explanation,%as%well%as%giving%valuable%feedback%to%the%
lecturer.

5
Teaching/Learning,Methodology
Tutorials
Students(will(be(asked(to(discuss(in(teams(the(assigned(
material(in(each(tutorial,(and(then(present(to(the(other(teams(
their(interpretation(and(questions(for(that(piece(of(reading.(
The(basic(approach(will(be(peer(teaching(in(which(each(study(
team(in(turn(will(facilitate(discussion(of(the(assigned(reading(
through(a(series(of(questions(posed(to(the(other(teams.

6
Teaching/Learning,Methodology
Exhibition,Visit
Students(are(required(to(make(a(31hour(visit(to(different(
museums(and(galleries(in(small(teams(so(that(they(are(able(to(
have(direct(viewing(experience(of(real(artworks.(They(are(
required(to(write(an(exhibition(review(of(1000(words(that(will(
be(due(in(week(7.(

7
Teaching/Learning,Methodology
Individual,Study
Students(will(be(expected(to(complete(the(remainder(of(the(
96(hours(required(for(each(credit(hour(earned(individually.(
Most(of(such(effort(should(be(devoted(to(reading(which(is(
designed(to(give(the(student(an(essential(training(of(
empowerment(in(learning(to(study(independently(and(
effectively.

8
Schedule(&(Content
Week Date Time Lecture/Tutorial Remarks

1 6#Sept#19 12:30- Introduction#to#Subject#Schedule#and#Requirements Group#discussion#

3:20pm Art#and#Cultural#Interactions#between#Europe#and# (0.9%)
Asia:#European’s#Influences#Upon#Japanese#Art,#1550-
1850#
2 13#Sept#19 12:30- The#Reception#of#European#Art#in#Japan#in#the#late# Group#discussion#
3:20pm nineteenth#century# (0.9%)

3 20#Sept#19 12:30- ELC(liaison(in;class(support((1:00;1:30pm) Group#discussion#

3:20pm# Interactions#between#Chinese#and#European#Art,# (0.9%)
from#the#seventeenth#to#the#nineteenth#centuries##
(1%)
3 21#Sept#19 2-3pm Museum#Visit#to#M+#(With#guided#tour)
Five#Artists:#Sites#Encountered
https://www.westkowloon.hk/en/sitesencountered/v
isit-2866
https://www.westkowloon.hk/en/whats-on/current-
forthcoming/five-artists-sites-encountered
4 27#Sept#19 12:30- Interaction+Among+Europe,+America+and+Asia+in+ Group#discussion
3:20pm# the+Early+Twentieth+Century+I+ (0.9%)
9
Schedule(&(Content
Week Date Time Lecture/Tutorial Remarks

5 4#Oct#19 12:30- In;class(short(quiz(1((10%) Group#discussion#

3:20pm Interaction#Among#Europe,#America#and#Asia#in#the# (0.9%)
Early#Twentieth#Century#II#
Submission(of(first(draft(to(ELC:#6#Oct#(SUN)#23:59
6 11#Oct#19 12:30- Chinese#and#European#Art#in#the#Era#of#War#and# Group#discussion
3:20pm Revolution# (0.9%)

7 18#Oct#19 12:30- Chinese#and#European#Art#in#the#Era#of#War#and# Group#discussion

3:20pm Revolution#II# (0.9%)
Submission(of(exhibition(review((1000(words)((20%)
8 25#Oct#19 12:30- In;class(short(quiz(2((10%) Group#discussion
3:20pm Emergence#of#Contemporary#Chinese#Art#since#the# (0.9%)
late#1970s#I#
9 1#Nov#19 12:30- Emergence#of#Contemporary#Chinese#Art#since#the# Group#discussion
3:20pm late#1970s#II (0.9%)
Submission(of(second(draft(to(ELC:#3#Nov#(SUN)#
23:59

10
Schedule(&(Content
Week Date Time Lecture/Tutorial Remarks

10 8$Nov$ 12:30, Art$Ecology,$Production$and$consumption,$and$ Group$discussion

19 3:20pm discourses$on$contemporary$Chinese$art$under$ (0.9%)
globalization$I$
11 15$Nov$ 12:30, Art$Ecology,$Production$and$consumption,$and$ Group$discussion
19 3:20pm discourses$on$contemporary$Chinese$art$under$ (0.9%)
globalization$II$
12 22$Nov$ 12:30, Art$Ecology,$Production$and$consumption,$and$ Group$discussion
19 3:20pm discourses$on$contemporary$Chinese$art$under$ (0.9%)
globalization$III$
13 29$Nov$ 12:30, In;class(short(quiz(3((10%)
19$ 3:20pm Submission(of(Essay((40%)

11
Assessment'for'this'subject'will'be'100%'coursework.'
They'are'composed'of'an'exhibition'review,'a'visual'quiz,'an'
essay'and'participation'in'lecture'and'tutorial'discussions'of'
assigned'readings.

12
Exhibition)Review)(20%):
Students(are(required(to(visit(a(current exhibition(on(contemporary(Chinese(art(or(
design(in)Hong)Kong and(write(a(review(of(the(art(exhibits(in(1000(words.(

A(review(should(include(an(objective(description(of(the(exhibition(and(selected(art(
exhibits((not(more(than(5(pieces)(that(have(drawn(your(attention((8%)(and(subjective(
interpretation(and(evaluation(of(the(selected(art(exhibits((8%).(

Additional(research(on(how(others(have(discussed,(interpreted(or(evaluated(these(
artworks(can(be(included(too((4%).(

You(have(to(cite(the(source(of(reference,(including(websites,(exhibition(leaflets,(
exhibition(catalogues,(journals(and(books.(

Images(of(artworks(should(be(included.

A(soft(copy(of(the(exhibition(review(should(be(submitted(to(Blackboard’s(turnLitLin(to(
check(plagiarism.(The(similarity(index(should(not(exceed(15%.(

You(are(required(to(submit(a)hard)copy)of(the(exhibition(review(to(me(in)class)on)18)
Oct)2019. 13
Exhibition)Review)(20%):

Writing)Requirement
All#assignments#should#be#properly#typed#in#Times#New#Roman with#a#
font#size#of#12#and#1.5 lines#spacing.#

Images#and#captions#of#artworks#should#be#included:#Name#of#artist,#
Title#of#artwork,#Year/period#of#production,#medium,#size#

14
Current'Exhibitions'in'Hong'Kong
Alisan Fine)Arts,)Aberdeen)space
Departures
22/6630/9
http://www.alisan.com.hk/en/exhibitions_detail.php?id=166
Blindspot,Gallery,,Wong,Chuk,Hang
Luke,Ching,Chin,Wai:,Liquefied,Sunshine,|,South,Ho,Siu,Nam:,Force,Majeure
10/9I2/11
https://blindspotgallery.com/exhibition/lukeIchingIchinIwaiIliquefiedIsunshineIsouthIhoI
siuInamIforceImajeure/
M+)Pavilion,)Art)Park,)West)Kowloon)Cultural)District
Five)Artists:)Sites)Encountered
7/6620/10
https://www.westkowloon.hk/en/whats6on/current6forthcoming/five6artists6sites6
encountered
The)15th)Asia)Contemporary)Art)Show
Conrad)Hong)Kong)— Pacific)Place,)88)Queensway,)Hong)Kong
467/10
https://www.asiacontemporaryart.com/shows/main/2019_Art_Shows/FALL_2019_EDI
TION/en/
Refer)to)Website)and)Mobile)App)for)Arts6related)CAR)Subjects 15
Essay%(40%):
Students(are(required(to(submit(a(research(essay(of(2500(words(in(English(to(fulfill(the(
“English(Writing”(requirement.(This(is(the(most(important(piece(of(coursework(for(this(
subject.(It(examines(and(develops(student’s(written(presentation(skills.(

For(the(topic(of(the(essay,(students(are(free(to(select(any(of(their(interest.(They(are(
expected(to(do(a(research(on(one(contemporary(Chinese(artist.(Their(analysis(should(
reflect(the(depth(of(their(research.(They(should(provide(a(clear(and(coherent(paper(in(
an(analytical(and(argumentative(manner(with(proper(citations(and(a(list(of(references.

10%(of(this(writing(assessment(will(be(conducted(by(ELC.(A(soft(copy(of(the(essay(
should(be(submitted(to(Blackboard’s(turnOitOin.(Please(submit(a(hard%copy%of%the%essay%
with%the%first%page%of%the%turn3it3in%report to(me(in%class on(29%Nov%2019.

In%order%to%pass%this%subject,%students%must%pass%the%writing%component,%
i.e.,%attain%a%minimum%grade%“D”%in%the%writing%component.

16
Essay%(40%):
Harvard%Citation%Style%(includes%the%page%no.%of%the%book%or%article)

InBtext%Citation:
There%are%two%groups%of%sculptures%from%the%Sanxingdui%Culture%(Wu%1997,%p.%274).

List%of%References:
Wu,%Hung%1997,%“All%About%the%Eyes:%Two%Groups%of%Sculptures%from%the%Sanxingdui%
Culture”,%Orientations:+The+Magazines+for+Collectors+and+Connoisseurs+of+Asian+Art,%vol.%
3,%no.%8,%pp.%274N282.

Writing%Requirements
All%assignments%should%be%properly%typed%in%Times%New%Roman with%a%font%size%of%12%
and%1.5 lines%spacing.%

Images%and%Captions%of%artworks%should%be%included:%Name%of%artist,%Title%of%artwork,%
Year/period%of%production,%medium,%size%

17
List%of%artists%for%essay%topic
Ai#Weiwei Ding#Yi
Cai Guoqiang Geng Jianyi
Fang#Lijun Hong#Hao
Gu Wenda Huang#Rui
Huang#Yongping Li#Shan
Lin#Tianmiao Lin#Yilin
Liu#Xiaodong Liu#Wei
Mao#Xuhui Qiu Zhijie
Song#Dong Song#Yongping
Wang#Jin Wang#Keping
Wang#Gongxin Wang#Guangyi
Wang#Jinsong Wu#Shanzhuan
Xu#Bing Yin#Xiuzhen
Yu#Youhan Yue Minjun
Zhang#Dali Zhang#Hongtu
Zhang#Peili Zhang#Xiaogang
Visual'Quiz'(30%):'
Three'in*class'short'quizzes'will'be'conducted'in'the'multiple*
choice'format'in'class,'covering'all'the'contents'in'lectures.'You'
may'bring'the'printed'materials'and'books'to'attend'the'quiz.'No'
electrical'device'is'permitted.

19
Participation*(10%):
Attendance(and(participation(in(discussion(even(debate(are(
considered(very(important.(It(is(crucial(that(students(come(to(
all(classes,(and(also(turn(up(on(time.(A(roll(of(attendance(will(
be(kept(and(certain(ground(rules(for(class(participation(will(be(
set.(It(counts(for(10(%(of(the(total(grade.(Marks(will(be(
deducted(for(each(unexcused(absence.

20
Textbook
Fok,%Silvia.%Art$and$Cultural$Interactions.%Singapore:%McGraw6
Hill%Education%(Asia),%2014.

21
Bibliography
Clarke,(David.(Hong%Kong%Art:%Culture%and%Decolonization.(Hong(Kong:(Hong(Kong(University(
Press,(2001.
_____.(“Found(in(Transit:(Hong(Kong(Art(in(a(Time(of(Change.”(Inside%Out:%New%Chinese%Art.(
Berkeley:(University(of(California(Press,(San(Francisco(Museum(of(Modern(Art(and(Asia(Society(
Galleries,(1999.
Debevoise,(Jane.(Between%State%and%Market:%Chinese%Contemporary%Art%in%the%PostCMao%Era.(
Leiden,(Boston:(Brill,(2014.
Galikowski,(Maria.(Art%and%Politics%in%China%1949C1984.(Hong(Kong:(Chinese(University(Press,(
1998,(175T245.
Gao(Minglu.(“From(Elite(to(Small(Man:(The(Many(Faces(of(a(Transitional(AvantTgarde(in(
Mainland(China.”(Inside%Out:%New%Chinese%Art.(Berkeley:(University(of(California(Press,(San(
Francisco(Museum(of(Modern(Art(and(Asia(Society(Galleries,(1999,(149T166
Hou(Hanru(and(Gao(Minglu.(“A(Conversation(on(the(Situation(of(Overseas(Chinese(Artists(in(the(
1990s.”(Inside%Out:%New%Chinese%Art.(Berkeley:(University(of(California(Press,(San(Francisco(
Museum(of(Modern(Art(and(Asia(Society(Galleries,(1999,(183T189.
Landsberger,(Stefan.(Chinese%Propaganda%Posters:%From%Revolution%to%Modernization.(Armonk,(
N.Y.:(M.E.(
Sharp,(1995,(17T63.(
Li(Xianting.(“An(Introduction(to(the(History(of(Modern(Chinese(Art.”(China%AvantCGarde:%CounterC
Currents%in%Art%and%Culture.(Hong(Kong:(Oxford(University(Press,(1993,(40T45.
Liao(Wen.(“The(Turbulent(History(of(Chinese(Feminist(Values(and(Art.”(Chinese%Art%at%the%End%of%
the%Millennium,(ChineseCart.com%1998C1999. Hong(Kong:(New(Media(Art(Limited,(2000,(67T71.22
Bibliography
Lu,$Victoria$Y.$“Striving$for$a$Cultural$Identity$in$the$Maze$of$Power$Struggles:$A$Brief$Introduction$to$the$
Development$of$the$Contemporary$Art$of$Taiwan.” Inside'Out:'New'Chinese'Art.$Berkeley:$University$of$
California$Press,$San$Francisco$Museum$of$Modern$Art$and$Asia$Society$Galleries,$1999,$167P173.
Qian$Zhijian.$“The$Changing$Role$of$Critics$in$the$1990s.” Chinese'Art'at'the'End'of'the'Millennium,$Chinese9
art.com'199891999. Hong$Kong:$New$Media$Art$Limited,$2000,$25P28.
Sullivan,$Michael. “After$Mao:$Art$Enters$a$New$Era.” Art'and'Artists'of''Twentieth9 Century'China.$
California:$University$of$California$Press,$$1996,$215P 281.
_____.$$“China$and$European$Art.”$“Europe$and$Chinese$Art,$1600P1900.”$&$“The$Revolution$in$Chinese$Art.”$
The'Meeting'of'Eastern'and'Western'Art,$Revised$and$Expanded$Edition$(A$Philip$E.$Lilienthal$book).$
California:$University$of$California$Press,$1997,$80P87,$89P117,$171P207$(71$pages).
_____. “Europe$and$America:$From$1850$to$the$Present$Day.” The'Meeting'of'Eastern'and'Western'Art,$
Revised$and$Expanded$Edition$(A$Philip$E.$Lilienthal$book).$California:$University$of$California$
Press,$1997,$209P270.
The'First'Guangzhou'Triennial,'Reinterpretation:'A'Decade'of'Experimental'Chinese'art'(199092000).$
Exhibition$Catalogue.$Curated$by$Wu$Hung$with$Wang$Huangsheng$and$Feng$Boyi.$Guangzhou:$Guangdong$
Museum$of$Art:$Art$Media$Resources,$c.$2002,$10P21.
Wu$Hung.$Exhibiting'Experimental'Art'in'China.$Chicago:$The$David$and$
Alfred$Smart$Museum$of$Art;$The$University$of$Chicago,$c.$2000,$9P46.
______.$“Ruins,$Fragmentation,$and$the$Chinese$Modern/Postmodern.”$Inside'Out:'New'Chinese'Art.$
Berkeley:$University$of$California$Press,$San$Francisco$Museum$of$Modern$Art$and$Asia$Society$Galleries,$
1999,$59P66.
Yang$Wei.$“A$Look$at$Chinese$Contemporary$Art$after$the$Move$from$Yuanmingyuan$to$Songzhuang.”$
Chinese'Art'at'the'End'of'the'Millennium,$Chinese9art.com'199891999. Hong$Kong:$New$Media$Art$Limited,$
2000,$111P116. 23
A"note"on"style"and"policy
In#order#to#be#fair#to#students#who#hand#in#their#work#on#time,#all#
deadlines#for#assignments#will#be#non6negotiable,#except#where#a#
doctor’s#note,#etc#is#produced.#No"extension"will"be"granted. Please#
take#care#about#time#management,#planning#your#workload#in#
advance.#Late#essays#will#(if#accepted#at#all)#be#subject#to#a#loss#of#
marks,#depending#on#the#length#of#the#delay#in#submission.#This#
could#result#in#an#essay#failing#together.

Plagiarism"is"the"presentation"of"work,"idea"or"creation"of"another"
person"as"though"it"is"your"own."It"occurs"when"the"origin"of"the"
material"used"is"not"properly"cited. Students#are#reminded#that#
plagiarism#is#a#serious#act#of#academic#dishonesty.#Apart#from#any#
other#action#taken,#plagiarism#will#immediately#lead#an#essay#to#be#
given#a#fail#grade.#
GEC1C28W
Contemporary Chinese & Western
Art and Cultural Interactions
Lecture 1
Art and Cultural Interactions between Europe and
Asia: European’s Influences Upon Japanese Art,
1550-1850

Reference:
Silvia-Fok,-Art$and$Cultural$Interactions.-Singapore:-McGraw8Hill-Education,-
2014,-pp.-189.
Clip 1

Japanese'History'of'Edo'period'to'Meiji'
Restoration(1/6)'(0:00;4:31)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQlxcz9U2x0
Uploaded'on'Jan'4,'2009'(8:51)

Japan%of%Edo%period%(Bakumatsu).%After%this%age,%Meiji%
Restoration%occurred%in%Japan.%It%is%expressed%by%
movie%The%Last%Samurai.
Clip 2

Jesuits'On...Xavier'(6:00312:30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G69cntQqLmo&index=3&list=PLfIV99jZo_d
Ux0MxFQef6Sx8i7sh1_A2Z

Uploaded'on'Nov'27,'2006
www.LoyolaProductions.com
Jesuit4Production4Company,4Los4Angeles
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries)
The Jesuits were significant in introducing the Western pictorial art
including oil painting and copper engraving to Japan in the late sixteenth
and early seventeenth century.

They gave new converts and established churches votive pictures for
display.

As the demand was so great that they could not rely on importation of
such pictures from Europe, they instructed Japanese artists to make
copies from the European originals.

Gradually, the Japanese learned the technique of Western-style painting.

Unfortunately these works were destroyed during the severe persecution

of Christian missionaries under the national seclusion policy in the early
seventeenth century.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries)
Prior to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) became shogun in 1598, there
were rivalries among foreign Catholic missionaries in Japan.

During the heyday of the Catholic missionaries (1542-1638) in Japan,

Jesuit seminaries at Nagasaki, Arima, Amakusa and elsewhere were
major places for copying European devotional paintings and sculptures.

The Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543 and has since started a process
of commercial and cultural exchange with the Japanese.

The first probable record of Japanese craftsmen in Osaka making

commissioned work for the Europeans is the copying of two gold
retables for Father Luis Froes’ Chapel in Portugal.

There were no direct instructions from the Europeans to the Japanese in

making copies from the original.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries)
On the other hand, the Italian Jesuit, Giovanni Niccolo (or Nacolao
1560-1626) directly trained young Japanese pupils in oil and fresco
painting and engraving by establishing the Academy of St Luke in
Nagasaki in 1585.

His pupils included Father Leonardo Kimura (1574–1619) and Father

Shiozuka (1577–1616).

Niccolo also taught the Japanese engraving since the arrival of the
printing press in 1590.

His contribution in training Japanese pupils before leaving for Macao in

1614 is significant.

Two of his students were sent to China to instruct Chinese seminaries in

European techniques.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries)
Here we have a glimpse of the cultural interactions brought by the
European Christian missionaries to Japan and subsequently from the
Japanese missionaries to China.

Nevertheless, the development of copying Christian art in Japan ceased

to continue or went underground after 1638.
Clip 3

Memorial)to)early)Christian)missionaries)in)
Japan,)Nagasaki)(0:0095:46))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naVymtt9k7E)

Uploaded)on)Mar)30,)2007
http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/japan/b... :3please3enter3the3Japanese3
mirror37 the3book,3other3writings,3films3and3photos
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
The term namban in Japanese art history refers to works of art produced
as a result of the cultural interactions between the Japanese and the
southern Europeans—mainly Portuguese and Spaniards—who arrived in
Japan in the sixteenth century.

It does not signify a particular style or system, but a term for works with
two heterogeneous origins—a Japanese style and a Western style.

The production of namban painting started from the late sixteenth

century and continued until the mid-seventeenth century.

The Japanese loosely labeled the Portuguese and other Europeans,

including Spanish, Dutch, and English, who visited Japan in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries as namban or southern barbarians.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
In general, namban culture was considered as the Western culture,
technology and general knowledge brought by the Jesuits.

Nagasaki was the leading center of the namban culture and was
particularly influenced by the Portuguese and Jesuits even after
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) nationalization of it in 1587.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens

Portrait'of'Toyotomi'Hideyoshi
Seisho'Shotai
Japan,'1599
Hanging'scroll,'ink'and'color'on'silk
90.7'x'37.8'cm'(image,'179.2'x'52'cm'(overall)
Asian'Art'Museum,'San'Francisco'
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Folding screens are called byobu in Japanese, which have been used by
the Japanese as room dividers.

It also serves to decorate the room. They are made of two to six panels
with a lacquered wood edge. The surface is either made of paper or silk,
in which artists could make paintings on it.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Nanban Screens
The namban byobu are always presented as pairs with a similar subject
matter.

Later in Tokugawa times, it included the Dutch and the Chinese in its
foreign community.

The other name for this kind of painting is komo, “red-haired,” a term
first applied to the Dutch, and later used by both Japanese and Chinese to
refer to the Europeans.

Namban screen literally means “southern barbarian” screen.

As a cultural legacy, it reveals the unique and specific cultural

interactions between Japan and Europe.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Illustration+1+&+2,+Kanō++Naizen (157091616), Namban+Screen
Azuchi9Momoyama+period+(157391603)+
Pair+of+six9fold+screens,+color+on+gold9leaf+paper
Height+155.5+cmM+Width+364.5+cm+(each)
(Kobe+City+Museum)
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
This pair of screens was made by Kanō Naizen (1570–1616) during the
Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568–1603), also called Momoyama Period.

It is a pair of six-fold screens with color on gold-leaf paper. Located at

the Kobe City Museum, the size of each screen is 155.5 cm by 264.5 cm.

The screens depict the Portuguese’s arrival in Japan during the Azuchi-
Momoyama period, the early Edo period.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
The screen on the left side portrays the Portuguese’s departure from a
port in one of their colonies in Southeast Asia.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
The screen on the right side portrays the Portuguese’s entry into a
Japanese port and trading with the people there.

In addition, it also shows a group of foreigners approaching a Jesuit

chapel (nambanji)
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Kanō Naizen was active during the Azuchi-Momoyama period and was
very close to the then military and political leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi had established his military headquarters near Nagasaki in

preparation for the invasion of Korea in 1592.

This was the time when the Japanese were enthusiastic about Western
culture. Four Japanese Christians from Kyushu visited Pope Gregory
XIII in Rome on a missionary trip in 1582 and returned to Japan in 1590.

These young people acquired first-hand experience of Europe—

including their artworks, mechanical devices and maps.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Hideyoshi was highly impressed by the foreign maps and cartography
technology.

The colorful folded maps became popular; so did the namban screens.

Most of the namban maps depict the world or Japan alone.

These depictions are accurate except for the rendering of the Americas,
and the northern and northeastern regions of Asia.

Those Japanese who had living experience in Europe not only enhances
their understanding of a distant culture, but they are also able to bring
back certain technologies, such as the map-making technique.
Namban&trade&screen
Attrib.&Kano&Naizen&(157081616)
Japan,&c.&1600
Pair&of&six8panel&screens
Ink,&color,&gold,&and&gold&leaf&on&paper,&175.9&x&377.8&cm&(each)
Private&collection
Namban&trade&screen
Attrib.&Kano&Naizen&(157081616)
Japan,&c.&1600
Pair&of&six8panel&screens
Ink,&color,&gold,&and&gold&leaf&on&paper,&175.9&x&377.8&cm&(each)
Private&collection
Details,)Namban)trade)screen,)private)collection
Top:)Elephant)and)palanquin)procession
Bottom:)Woman)and)men)observing)the)procession
Right:)The)black)ship)departing)Macao
Details,)Namban)trade)screen,)private)collection
Left:)Flags)and)sailors)onboard)the)carrack
Top:)Shore=party)entering)town
Bottom:)Christian)church)with)kneeling)samurai
Namban&trade&screen
Japan,&c.&1620540
Pair&of&six5panel&screens
Ink,&color,&gold,&and&gold&leaf&on&paper,&147.6&x&316.2&cm&(each)
Asian&Art&Museum,&San&Francisco
Namban&trade&screen
Japan,&c.&1620540
Pair&of&six5panel&screens
Ink,&color,&gold,&and&gold&leaf&on&paper,&147.6&x&316.2&cm&(each)
Asian&Art&Museum,&San&Francisco
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Similar namban screens with Portuguese subject matter can be found in
the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

The depiction of the Portuguese ship landing, the Portuguese traders, and
the Jesuit priests demonstrate western techniques in the treatment of
space.
Namban&trade&screen
Japan,&c.&1620540
Pair&of&six5panel&screens
Ink,&color,&gold,&and&gold&leaf&on&paper,&147.6&x&316.2&cm&(each)
Asian&Art&Museum,&San&Francisco
Details(of(namban(trade(screen,(Asian(Art(Museum,(San(Francisco
Left:(Portugese(leader,(men(unloading(carrack
Right:(Portugese(men(observing(arrival(of(goods
Details(of(namban(trade(screen,(Asian(Art(Museum,(San(Francisco
Left:(Portugese(carrying(goods(into(town
Central:(Portugese(leader(and(attendants
Right:(Samurai(observing(scene,(Japanese(women(wearing(PortugeseC
inspired(veils
Illustration+3,+Anonymous
Namban+Screen.+Portuguese+Ship+Landing.
16?17+century,+Momoyama,+Japan.
Asian+Art+Museum+of+San+Francisco,+San+Francisco.+
exp02088.jpg?Orient+035+©+Kathleen+Cohen+1998
Illustration+4,+Anonymous
Namban+Screen.+Portuguese+traders+with+chair.
16>17+century,+Momoyama,+Japan.
Asian+Art+Museum+of+San+Francisco,+San+Francisco.+
exp02090.jpg>Orient+037+©+Kathleen+Cohen+1998
Illustration+5,+Anonymous+
Namban+Screen.+
Detail:+Jesuit+priests.
16=17+century+
Momoyama,+Japan.
Asian+Art+Museum+of+San+
Francisco,+San+Francisco.+
exp02092.jpg=Orient+039+©+
Kathleen+Cohen+1998
Namban&trade&screen
Japan,&c.&1600425
Pair&of&six4panel&screens
Ink,&color,&and&gold&leaf&on&paper
105.1&x&260.7&cm&(each)
Mary&and&Jackson&Burke&Foundation
Namban&trade&screen
Japan,&c.&1600425
Pair&of&six4panel&screens
Ink,&color,&and&gold&leaf&on&paper
105.1&x&260.7&cm&(each)
Mary&and&Jackson&Burke&Foundation
Details(of(namban(trade(screen,(Mary(and(Jackson(Burke(Foundation
Left:(Portugese(lounging(onboard(ship
Top:(Ferrying(goods(ashore
Bottom:(Portugese(observing(the(arrival(of(goods
Details(of(namban(trade(screen,(Mary(and(Jackson(Burke(Foundation
Left:(Portugese(examining(goods(in(fabric(shop
Central:(Chinese(women(with(goats
Right:(Franciscans(and(Jesuits(in(church(buildings
A Long Tale for an Autumn Night

A Long Tale for an Autumn Night, Muromachi period (1392-1573), c. 1400,

one handscroll from a set of three, ink, color and gold on paper, H: 30.9 cm,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Masako&Watanabe,&Storytelling+in+Japanese+Art,&New&York:&The&Metropolitan&Museum&of&
Art,&2011,&p.&110.&
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Another screen in the Art Institute of Chicago depicts the landing of the
Portuguese ships with European merchants and goods from the West in
the southern tip of Japan.

Ships landing, unloading of cargoes and the meeting of the Japanese and
Europeans set in a bare landscape become key motifs of namban screens.
Illustration+6,+Anonymous
Namban+Screen
Six+panel+screen,+one+of+a+pair,+ink,+colours+and+gold+leaf+on+paper
170.8+x+369+cm
Robert+Allerton+Endowment+Fund,+1965.401
The+Art+Institute+of+Chicago
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
The namban screens made by the Japanese artists during this period
inevitably document and predominantly represent the cultural
interactions between the Portuguese and the Japanese in a precise
manner, including religious and commercial interactions.

These screens turned out to be visual legacies documenting this moment

in history when the Japanese were fascinated with Western technology
and culture.

From the Portuguese perspective, the namban art reveals their expansion
to the Far East as well as the Oriental influence on Portuguese art.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
From the collection in the Museum of Ancient Art in Portugal, the
presence of the Portuguese in Japan at that point in history is shown by
images of the Portuguese depicted on the tiered food box and gunpowder
flask.
Illustration+7,+Tiered+food+box
Edo+period+(beginning)
Namban+Art
Costa+Carneiro+Collection,+1954
Lisbon,+MNAA,+Inv.˚68+cx
Carlos+Monteiro,+DDF/IPM,+IFN+10823
Illustration+8,+Gun+powderRflask
Momoyama+period+(end)
Namban+Art
Costa+Carneiro+Collection,+1954
Lisbon,+MNAA,+Inv.˚931div
Luís+Pavão,+DDF/IPM,+IFN+02996
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
No background is shown.

The visual representations of the figures are typically Western with high-
pointed noses, hats, distinctive costumes and weapons.

The sophisticated quality of these works reveals that those who own
them are very likely Japanese with high social status.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Namban folding screens can be considered as master art pieces that can
best illustrate the cultural interactions between Japan and Portugal.

Bearing the seal of Kanō Naizen, this pair of screens (ppt illustrations 9-
10) depicts the preparation of a black ship’s departure from a harbor
which is likely to be Goa and the arrival and unloading of cargo from a
Portuguese ship at a Japanese harbor, probably Nagasaki.
Illustration+9+&+10+
Folding+screen+(pair)
seal+of+Kanō+Naizen,+Momoyama+period+(end),+Namban+Art
Acquisition,+1954,+Lisbon,+MNAA,+Inv.˚1640+mov+e+1641+mov,+
Francisco+Matias,+DDF/IPM,+IFN+00146/00145
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
In the left screen, it depicts an elephant and other types of architecture.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
In the right screen, it portrays in detail the precious goods such as
Chinese silks and other exotic animals and products traded by the
Portuguese, headed by the ship’s commander.

To the further right, there is a depiction of the members of the missionary

orders waiting at the church for the arrival of the committee.

They serve to mark the presence and influence of the commercial and
religious interactions.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Another pair of screens, attributed to Kyoto-born Kanō Domi (known as
Pedro Kano Gennosuke after his conversion to Christianity) presents a
close-up, portraying similarly the arrival and unloading of the vessels,
presumably at Nagasaki.
Illustration+11+&+12
Folding+Screens+(pair)
Attributed+to+Kanō+Domi,+Momoyama+period+(end),+Nanban+Art,
Costa+Carneiro+Collection,+1954
Lisbon,+MNAA,+Inv.˚1638+mov+1639+mov,+Francisco+Matias,+DDF/IPM,
IFN+00148/00147
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
They delineate in detail trade negotiation on board and the unloading of
precious goods like rolls of Chinese silks.

In the right-hand screen, a procession led by the ship’s commander in the

direction to the church, the home of the Jesuit, is depicted.

There are other people following them. They include a group of people
with rich costumes, exotic animals, and glazed pots for transporting
spices.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Almost all namban screens portray the seashore or port in Japan in the
horizontal format, highlighting the landing of the Europeans and the
interactions between the Europeans and Japanese.

The treatment of space follows the Western tradition with perspective.

The architectures and landscape are carefully rendered with realism.

Similarly, the figures in the screen can be distinguished by their unique

dress codes.

Black Ship is another key motif that unveils the arrival of foreign people
and culture and its political implication.
Illustration+13,+Folding+screen+(detail)
Attributed+to+Kanō+Domi
Lisbon,+MNAA,+Inv 1639+mov
Josè+Pessoa,+DDF/IPM,+IFN+00147.5
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
From the detail (ppt illustration 13), the depiction of architecture and
space is very Western while the depictions of the silhouette of the figures
are Japanese.

No gradation of tones or shading is applied in painting the body and

garment. In terms of materials used, it is proved that the Japanese used
the traditional Japanese palette: gold, silver, malachite, azurite,
vermilion, red lead, red madder, yellow ochre, white oyster shell, and
carbon black.

The screens are not fully covered with gold leaf, and even small areas
like figures and animals were not painted over gold. It is purported that
improvisation did not occur. The work should have been made with
precise design and idealization before the execution.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
The Portuguese interpret these lamban screens as oriental art of
Portuguese influence.

They regard namban art, not exclusive to screens, but also to art objects
such as caskets. (ppt illustration 14)

The artistic evidence shows that both cultures contributed to make this
type of namban art an artistic legacy, revealing an important moment of
cultural interaction in addition to the initial desire of imperial expansion.
Illustration+14,+Casket
Momoyama+period+(end)
Namban+Art
Legacy+of+Francisco+Barros+e+Sá,+1981
Lisbon,+MNAA,+Invº99+cx
Carlos+Monteiro,+DDF/IPM,+IFN+10824
Clip 4

The$velvet$cape$(0:00.15:40)$
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viFhANAc5Og$

Published$on$Mar$24,$2014
Vídeo&conference+about+the+japanese parades+depicting+past+ages,+particularly+the+
"namban jidai"+(17th+century).+
Clip 5

Boats&and&Bodies&(10:48112:00,&30:00134:00)&
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1_W4sG_14I&

Published&on&Mar&25,&2014
Video&conference+about+the+"namban sen"+(the+ship+of+the+portuguese
merchants+in+17th+century+Japan).+This+is+the+second+video&conference+of+
several.+Please+see+"The+velvet+cape"+before+this+one.
Clip 6

Portugal,*Jesuits,*and*Japan:*Spiritual*Beliefs*
and*Earthly*Goods*(0:00<3:00)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upkr3eQ0Flo*

Published*on*Apr*8,*2013
The$McMullen$Museum$of$Art$at$Boston$College$presents$a$
groundbreaking$exhibition$of$rare$namban art:$works$influenced$by$the$
arrival$of$the$namban?jin or$“southern$barbarians”—European$
missionaries$and$merchants$in$Japan—during$the$sixteenth$and$
seventeenth$centuries.$Portugal,$Jesuits,$and$Japan:$
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Another type of namban screen (byobu) was copied from European
originals, in which the Jesuits aimed to choose themes showing the
grandeur of Europe.

They depict scenes of court and aristocratic life with linear perspective
and shading, which is not a Japanese technique in pictorial art.

The namban screen from Kobe City Museum shows a landscape of sheep
and shepherd with a seashore and castle in the background.

This screen looks Western in subject matter and style. It is close to the
Christian connotation of the Shepherd and Christ (with sheep as
disciples).
Illustration+15,+Anonymous,+Shepherd'and'Sheep,+with+
Other+Figures.+Half+of+a+Namban+screen,+Ink+and+
colour+on+paper,+late+Momoyama+or+early+Edo+period,+
seventeenth+century.+Kobe+City+Museum,+Kobe
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
In another screen from the Hakone Museum, there are depictions of
Western social customs.

As discussed by Sullivan, the depiction of open-air entertainment is

probably based on European engravings.

Illustration+16,+Anonymous,+Lutanist(and(
Admirer.+Detail+of+a+namban+screen+of+Western+
social+customs.+Late+Momoyama+or+early+Edo+
period,+early+seventeenth+century,+Hakone+
Museum,+Hakone
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Nobutaka, a Christian painter, who studied under Niccolo at Arima
before 1591, was little known. But several namban screens with
European subjects have been attributed to him.

Illustration+17
Attributed+to+Nobukata
Old$Man$Reading
Colours+on+paper
35.2+x+56+cm+
Collection+of+Ichio+Kuga,+Osaka

Image+source:+Yoshitomo+Okamoto,+The$Namban$Art$of$Japan,+New+York,+Tokyo:+
Weatherhill/Heibonsha,+1972,+40.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Map of the World and Famous Cities from the Museum of the Imperial
Collection shows a remarkable evidence of interaction between Japan
and Europe in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

This pair of eight-panel folding screens depicts 28 cities, eight rulers, a

map of the world, and multiple pairs of male and female figures of 42
cultures or countries, based on a close study of Willem Janszoon
Blaeu’s (1571–1638) copperplate in 1607, derived from a similar work
created by a Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius (1552–1622) in 1592.
Willem&Janszoon Blaeu (157131638)
"Regiones Sub&Polo&Arctico"&[ca.&1638].&Copperplate&map,&39.4&x&51.1&cm.,&
handcolored,&with&French&text&on&verso.&First&state,&from&the&French&Appendice
to&Blaeu's Le#theatre#du#monde.&[Historic&Maps&Collection:&purchased&with&
funds&provided&by&Robert&M.&Backes,&Class&of&1939.]
http://libweb5.princeton.edu/visual_materials/maps/websites/northwest3passage/blaeu.htm,&
accessed&&11&June&2014
Illustration+18
Map$of$the$World$and$Famous$Cities
Momoyama period,+16th century
Pair+of+eight;panel+folding+screens
Ink,+color,+and+gold+paper
178.7+x+484.4+each
Museum+of+the+Imperial+Collections
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
On the right panel, there are depictions of images of rulers; European,
Indian, and South American cities; and a map of Portugal. No
inscription is made for identification purposes.

On the left panel, there is a map of the world flanked by 42

representative couples.

The screens are painted in a detailed manner with exquisite skills in

modeling.

The cities are rendered with subtlety to describe landscape types such
as mountains, deserts, etc
Illustration+19
Map$of$the$World$and$Famous$Cities
Momoyama period,+16th century
Pair+of+eight;panel+folding+screens
Ink,+color,+and+gold+n+paper
178.7+x+484.4+each
Museum+of+the+Imperial+Collections
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
It is categorized as namban art that relates to the activities of Iberian
diplomats, merchants, and missionaries in Japan from the mid-
sixteenth to the early seventeenth century.

Namban art includes liturgical and devotional art, Japanese paintings

in Western style, and Japanese genre paintings depicting a foreigner’s
life in Japan.

Namban literally means southern barbarian, derived from the Chinese

derogatory references to peoples of Southeast Asia.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
The Japanese, however, applied it to south Europeans arriving in Japan
via Goa, Macao, and the Philippines.

While the most familiar namban screen paintings delineate a ship

arriving at Nagasaki Harbor and the visitors touring the city streets,
around 60 pairs of this type of screen painting produced between 1590
and 1686 have been identified.

The screens depicting the map may have come from an atelier founded
by the Jesuits for the production of religious iconography, which 30
screens of this style have been known.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
Accompanying the expanding exploration, trade, and colonizing
ventures of Portugal and Spain, the Jesuit missionaries, established in
1534, were sent to Japan in 1549.

They might have provided the source of the map and the environment
for the screen artists.

One of the talented Jesuit painters Giovanni Niccolo arrived in Japan

in 1583 and founded courses in Western painting techniques and
engraving, emphasizing perspective and chiaroscuro, at the Boy’s
Academy in Kyushu. The major styles were Baroque and Mannerist.
He worked there until 1614.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (16th-17th centuries) -
Namban Screens
The Jesuit program in Japan was eager to introduce European culture
to the Japanese, and showed a respect for the indigenous culture.

The Jesuit Mission Press functioned from 1590 till 1614 and published
not only Christian religious materials, but also dictionaries and
anthologies of Western literature.

The Jesuit-trained Japanese painters learned how to make religious

iconography.

Unfortunately, little of these materials survived because of the

suppression of Christianity during the Edo period (1615-1868).
Nevertheless, world map painting screens depicting history, landscape
and secular figures are extant.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (18th century) –
Transitional Stage
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (18th century) –
Transitional Stage
In the eighteenth century, the European intellectual achievement from
the West were brought to Japan by the Dutch traders in Nagasaki, in
addition to being brought second hand by the Chinese.

A whole branch of learning centered on the more practical sciences was

known as “Dutch Studies” (rangaku).

The Confucian scholar Arai Hakuseki (1657-1725) wrote Seiyo Kibun

(A Record of Western Matters) and served as advisor to the shogun who
advocated the study of Western Science.
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (18th century) –
Transitional Stage
The ban on Western books was lifted, except for books on Christianity
in 1720.

Japanese artists had again started to investigate Western art.

This is an active process initiated by the Japanese people’s eagerness to

learn things Western, by means of direct tutorship from European
artists and indirect knowledge through books.
Hiraga Gennai’s (1728-79) painting of a young European woman reveals
a local school of art of Western style.

As a botanist and scholar, he is one of the earliest Japanese artists who

adopted Western techniques in painting a Western subject in the northern
city of Akita, which was a center for “Dutch” studies for some time.

Illustration+20
Hiraga+Gennai+( 1726679)
Portrait'of'a'Western'Lady
mid618th+century
Colour+on+hemp+cloth
45.1cm+x+33.6cm
Kobe+City+Museum+of+Namban+Art
The district is also known as Akita Prefecture.

Michael Sullivan states that this work might be a copy from an oil
painting by the French artist Jean Baptiste Oudry.

Illustration+20
Hiraga+Gennai+( 1726679)
Portrait'of'a'Western'Lady
mid618th+century
Colour+on+hemp+cloth
45.1cm+x+33.6cm
Kobe+City+Museum+of+Namban+Art
Similarly interested in science, Shiba Kōkan (1738-1818), the most well-
known Western style painter of the later Tokugawa / Edo period (1600-
1868), was also inspired by the Akita Prefecture.

He was a science-artist. As suggested by Sullivan, the painting is adapted

from Abraham van Santa Clara’s engraving of the coopers in Something
for Everyone (1736).

Kōkan was considered to be an occidental type of artist.

Illustration+21,+Shiba+Kōkan+
Barrel&Makers&(The&Coopers)
Late+18th+century
Colours+on+silk+47+cm+x+60+cm
Mori+Collection,+Tokyo.
He makes a statement about the aim of Western art in his book,
Discussion of Western Painting (Seiyoga Dan) that the primary aim is to
create a spirit of reality, in which the Japanese and Chinese could only
make subjective impressions of an object or a face.

He states, “The indigenous art technique of Japan and China cannot

possibly reproduce reality. This difficulty is due to the total disregard of
shading in Japanese art.”

His writings represent the attitude of those Japanese students who lean
towards Western art, which is an empirical and practical approach for
realistic representation.

Illustration+21,+Shiba+Kōkan+
Barrel&Makers&(The&Coopers)
Late+18th+century
Colours+on+silk+47+cm+x+60+cm
Mori+Collection,+Tokyo.
Illustration+22,+Shiba+Kōkan+
View%of%Mimeguri%in%Edo,+1783
Copperplate+etching+with+colours+added+by+brush
28.2+cm+x+40.3+cm
Kobe+City+Museum+of+Namban+Art
He had devoted considerable amount of time in studying writings on
astronomy that had been brought in from Holland, such that he played a
key role in bringing Western thought to Japan.

As a pioneer in Western oil painting and copperplate printing in Japan,

the style of the Lohan, an enlightened Buddhist disciple, is evidently
influenced by Western styles.

Illustration+23,+Shiba+Kōkan+
Lohan
Colour+on+paper
40.8+x+63.3+cm
National+Palace+Museum,+Taipei+
(00842)
Attributed)to)Fan)Long)(12th century)
An#Arhat#in#the#Forest.)Section)of)a)handscroll.)Ink)on)paper,)h.)12”
Western art also influenced traditional painters such as Maruyama Ōkyo
(1733-95).

Ōkyo was regarded as a reformist artist.

Similar to Kōhan, Ōkyo has a passion for incorporating Western ideas

into Japanese art. He emphasizes the need for making sketches from life
(Kawakita, 25).

Ōkyo painted by means of an eyeglass (megane-e), as if viewed through

the magnifying lens of a peep show.

Illustration+24,+Maruyama+Ōkyo+(
1733895)
Festival.+About+1760
Megane8e+(eyeglass+painting),colours+on+
paper,+24.1+x+36.5+cm
The way he drew eyeglass pictures by the projection method was
intended to be viewed by camera obscura, which was imported into
Japan in the late seventeenth century via China.

The camera-obscura pictures had inspired Chinese and Japanese

printmakers alike.

Invented by Roger Bacon before 1300, camera obscura (Latin for “dark
room”) is an optical device, consisting of a box or room with a hole in
one side. Light from an external scene passes through the hole and
strikes a surface inside where it is reproduced, upside-down, but with
color and perspective preserved.

Illustration+24,+Maruyama+Ōkyo+(
1733895)
Festival.+About+1760
Megane8e+(eyeglass+painting),colours+on+
paper,+24.1+x+36.5+cm
The image can be projected onto paper, and can then be traced to
produce a highly accurate representation.

The Japanese artists’ fascination with camera obscura reflects their

attraction to Western realism in which perspective was deployed in a
scientific manner.

Ōkyo copied the models from China but gradually mastered the
technique from the Dutch copperplate engravings.

He produced a series of eyeglass paintings on scenery in Kyoto which

was later transferred to woodblocks for reproduction.

Illustration+24,+Maruyama+Ōkyo+(
1733895)
Festival.+About+1760
Megane8e+(eyeglass+painting),colours+on+
paper,+24.1+x+36.5+cm
Clip 7

The$Art$of$Photography:$The$Camera$
Obscura (0:0096:43)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LutIudRhm10$

Uploaded$on$Dec$3,$2008
http://theartofphotography.tv/episode...
In4this4episode,4we4explore4the4basics4of4how4a4camera4works4by4looking4at4the4
Camera4Obscura @ a4model4dating4back4to4the44th4Century4in4Greece.
When he grew older, he added elements from Chinese paintings of the
Song and Yuan Dynasty (960–1368), developed new methods of
sketching and deployed Japanese decorative styles.

Yet his contribution lies in the fusion between Western realism and
Oriental tradition.

Ōkyo’s art reflects the cultural interactions between Japan, Europe and
China in a subtle manner.

Illustration+24,+Maruyama+Ōkyo+(
1733895)
Festival.+About+1760
Megane8e+(eyeglass+painting),colours+on+
paper,+24.1+x+36.5+cm
Illustration+25 Illustration+26
Maruyama+Ōkyo+( 1733795) Maruyama+Ōkyo
Detail+from+a+handscroll+entitled Monkey
The$Two$Banks$of$the$Yodo$River,+1765 From+a+handscroll+entitled+
Colours+on+silk Realistic$Sketches,$1770
Ht:+42+cm Colours+on+silk
44.2+x+278+cm
Clip 8

Hokusai(and(Hiroshige:(Great(Japanese(Prints(
from(the(James(A.(Michener(Collection(0:00?11:41)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaP4wt1n3w0(

Uploaded(on(Jan(4,(2010
Video&for&the&Hokusai&and&Hiroshige:&Great&Japanese&Prints&from&the&James&A.&
Michener&Collection,&Honolulu&Academy&of&Arts&exhibition&that&took&place&at&the&
Asian&Art&Museum&(filmed&at&former&museum&location&in&Golden&Gate&Park)&
from&September&26&G December&6,&1998.
The woodblock artist Katushika Hokusai (1760-1849) had also
experimented with Western perspective and realism. He had been
developing “earthly Japanese-plebeian realism of his own”.

Cultured Japanese regarded the Ukiyo-e as a plebeian art.

Hokusai was regarded as the individualist type of Japanese artists.

Hokusai remains an eccentric artist, neither accepting occidental

influences nor attempting to fit in with the Oriental tradition.

Illustration+27,+Katsushika+Hokusai+
( 176071849)
Ushigafuchi*in*Kudan,+early+19th+century
Woodblock+print,+18.4+x+24.7+cm
Tokyo+National+Museum
The woodblock print entitled Ushigafuchi in Kudan best demonstrates
his integration of Western perspective into Japanese landscape paintings
with individuality.

Hokusai’s realism was “instinctive rather than studied, plebeian rather

than scientific. His ideal of realism was one in which the logic of the
West became indistinguishable from the grace and spirit of the East”.

All in all, Hokusai incorporates Western features to the local ukiyo-e

prints.
Illustration+28,+Katsushika+Hokusai+(
176081849)
The$Breaking$Wave$Off$Kanagawa.+
(The$Great$Wave).+Woodblock+print+from+
Hokusai's+series+
Thirty6six$Views$of$Fuji,+which+are+the+high+
point+of+Japanese+prints.+The+original+is+at+the+
Hakone+Museum+in+Japan.
Ando Hiroshige’s (1797-1858) print, Mount Fuji from Yoshiwara
demonstrates the skills in combining Western perspective and Japanese
design.

Illustration+29,+Ando+Hiroshige+
( 179781858)
Mount&Fuji&from&Yoshiwara
From+the+Fifty3three&Stages&of&Tokaido,+1833834
Colour+woodblock+print
Victoria+and+Albert+Museum,+London
His Sudden Shower at the Bridge at Atake (1856-58) from One
Hundred Famous Views of Edo ( ) shows “his absorption
of Western perspective and atmospheric realism”.

Illustration+30,+Ando+Hiroshige Vincent+van+Gogh
( 179791858)+ Copy+of+Hiroshige’s+Sudden&
Great&Bridge,&Sudden&Shower, 1856958 Shower,&1888,Oil+on+canvas
From One&Hundred&Famous&Views&of&Edo National+Museum+Vincent+
Colour+woodblock+print, British Museum, London van+Gogh
The way this work was copied by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh
(1853-90) 30 years later in France in 1888 helps to prove the
“Impressionists’ fascination with Japanese art” in nineteenth century
Europe

Illustration+30,+Ando+Hiroshige Vincent+van+Gogh
( 179791858)+ Copy+of+Hiroshige’s+Sudden&
Great&Bridge,&Sudden&Shower, 1856958 Shower,&1888,Oil+on+canvas
From One&Hundred&Famous&Views&of&Edo National+Museum+Vincent+
Colour+woodblock+print, British Museum, London van+Gogh
Interactions between European and
Japanese Art (18th century) –
Transitional Stage
European influence upon Japan was limited since the suppression of
Christianity, achieved through the military (shogunate) government
adopting the isolation policy.

The way Japanese artists experimented with Western realism in the mid-
nineteenth century by different means, as opposed to the traditional
Japanese painting styles is worth noting.

Among all the Western techniques, treatment of space has influenced

Japanese art the most.

In addition the impact of Japanese art on the late nineteenth century

French paintings will be discussed in the sections that follow, on the
interaction between Japanese and Korean paintings.
Diplomatic and Cultural Exchange
between Korea and Japan in the
Eighteenth Century – Literati
Painting (Nanga)
Some Korean artists were highly appreciated by the Japanese, but
neglected in their home country.

Hong Set’ae (1653-1725), a well-known scholar and poet, was one of

them.

Although he had a good reputation in calligraphy, he was never

mentioned in any Korean documentation as an artist.

He visited Japan in 1682 as a military official.

Diplomatic and cultural exchanges took place.

His calligraphy had impressed his Japanese hosts.

He wrote a foreword and a colophon for a collection of poems by Arai

Hakuseki (1657-1725), the organizer for the reception of the next Korean
embassy of 1711.
On another occasion, he exchanged poetry with Japanese Confucian
scholars.

The painting official Ham Chegon was there and he made an ink
painting in response.

Hong’s portrait was made by Kanō Tsunenobu (1636–1713).

A Kano master gave him a landscape painting—Fishing in the Cold

River—as a present.

The Kano school was the most important school of painting in the
Momoyama period (1573-1603), developed by Kanō (1543-1590), for
the creation of monumental landscapes on the sliding doors enclosing a
room.

Hong also contributed poems to an illustrated anthology on the Eight

Views of Xiao and Xiang that published in Kyoto in 1688.
From his three preserved paintings with his signature kept in Japan, the
Landscape drawn in 1682 depicts a scholar sitting in a thatched
pavilion by the shore surrounded by hills and trees.

The trees depicted in the foreground belong to the Southern school

derived from “Yuan sources from China. His brush was wetter and
strokes were more sketchy and fluent than the court style. This is
considered to be the Namjonhwa style of Korean paintings, so called
‘Korean Literati Style’”.
Hong Set’ae (1653-1725)

Illustration+31
Landscape
1682
Hanging+scroll
Ink+and+light+colour+on+paper
38.1+x+11.3+cm
Collection+unknown

Image+source:
Burglind+Jungmann,*Painters*as*Envoys:*Korean*Inspiration*in*
Eighteenth*Century*Japanese*Nanga,+Princeton+and+Oxford:+
Princeton+University+Press,+2004,+fig+21,+p.+83
Chong Son (1676-1759) was well acquainted with scholars who were
sent to China and Japan. He is regarded as the greatest master of “truth
scenery” paintings, as opposed to ideal Chinese landscapes.

His favorite subject was the Diamond Mountains (Kumgangsan), famous

for its rock formations.

His Ravine of a Myriad Waterfalls is considered to be a masterpiece of

this type.

The painting does not look real at all because Chong had limited his
range of basic, simple shapes and brush strokes for depicting trees and
rocks amid a wide S-curve.

The uniform shapes in which only variations of thickness of the strokes

and the shade of ink are applied convey an abstract outlook with a
dynamic rhythm.
The tension between “graphic” brushwork and “natural” renditions of
space is characteristic of most of his true sceneries.

In many other true scenery paintings, Chong Son further reduces his
simple trees, especially those standing on far mountains, to horizontal
Mi-dots (Chinese: Mi dian; Korean: Mi-jom).

He was considered as a follower of the Mi Fu tradition.

However, it is noted that Mi Fu (1051-1107) and his followers use these

dots to render the misty or cloudy atmosphere.

Different from Mi Fu, Chong Son employed these dots as graphic

elements.

He had exerted great influence on later masters, such as Ch’oe Puk and
Kim Yusong, who went to Japan in 1748 and 1764 respectively.
Chong Son (1676-1759)

Mi+Fu+(Chinese,+105101107)
Mountains'and'Pines'in'Spring'(part)
National+Palace+Museum,+Taipei

Illustration+32
Ravine'of'a'Myriad'Waterfalls
mid018th+century
Album+leave,+ink+and+light+colour+on+
paper,+33+x+21.9+cm
Seoul+National+University+Museum+
Chong Son (1676-1759)

Dai+Jin+(Chinese,+Ming+dynasty),+138801452
Fishermen'on'the'River'(detail)

Illustration+34
Fishing'at'a'Cold'Cliff
mid018th+century
Ink+on+paper,+117.2+x+70.3+cm
The+National+Museum+of+Korea,+Seoul
Chong Son (1676-1759)
Only a few paintings by Chong Son are
extant. One of them could have been a
small Snow Landscape.

A man is depicted in a thatched hut with a

crane at his side.

The man overlooks a snowy river

surrounded by high mountain ranges.
Illustration+33
Unlike Fishing at a Cold Cliff, Snow
Snow%Landscape
mid/18th+century Landscape is drawn in fluent, swift lines.
Ink+and+light+colour+on+
paper
31.1+x+25.7+cm
Chinju+National+Museum,+
South+Korea
Chong Son (1676-1759)
Chong Son used double lines to portray
mountain contours which playfully
intertwines, a technique that can also be
found in late Chinese “Zhe”school
paintings.

The balanced composition, however,

accords with the Chinese Southern School
painting ideas.
Illustration+33
These three paintings give us an idea of the
Snow%Landscape
mid/18th+century broad range of techniques and styles Chong
Ink+and+light+colour+on+ Son could handle and skillfully combine.
paper
31.1+x+25.7+cm
Chinju+National+Museum,+
South+Korea
Yi Songnin (1718-1777)
Illustration+35
“Mount+Fuji”+from+album+of+
Views&of&a&Journey&through&
Japan,+1748
Mounted+on+two+handscrolls,+
ink+and+light+colour++on+
paper
35.2+x+66.7+cm,The+National+
Museum+of+Korea,+Seoul

Yi Songnin (1718-1777), a minor court artist, had made a series of

landscape paintings depicting Japan during his journey of 1748.

His works are kept in the National Museum of Korea.

This indicates the excellence of his skills in capturing spectacular

sceneries of Japan.
Yi Songnin (1718-1777)
Illustration+35
“Mount+Fuji”+from+album+of+
Views&of&a&Journey&through&
Japan,+1748
Mounted+on+two+handscrolls,+
ink+and+light+colour++on+
paper
35.2+x+66.7+cm,The+National+
Museum+of+Korea,+Seoul

Yi served as the painting official of the embassy of 1748.

Little is known about him except his trip to Japan.

There are two handscrolls that are attributed to Yi in the collection of the
Department of History in the National Museum of Korea in Seoul.
Yi Songnin (1718-1777)
Illustration+35
“Mount+Fuji”+from+album+of+Views&of&
a&Journey&through&Japan,+1748
Mounted+on+two+handscrolls,+ink+
and+light+colour++on+paper
35.2+x+66.7+cm,The+National+
Museum+of+Korea,+Seoul

They also contain 30 leaves of colored scenery landscapes, painted

meticulously on location in Japan, with an inscription in the upper-right-
hand corner of the name of the place represented.

They were meant for documentary purposes.

The diplomatic and cultural interactions between Korea and Japan also
imply the indirect influence of the Chinese literati painting style on
Korean paintings.
Question for group discussion

1. What do you think is the major factor that

can facilitate cultural interactions?