Chinese Art

Chinese Art by Mary Tregear (Thames & Hudson, Revised Edition 1997)

Parts that interested me in my brief work-through of the book:

One of the most influential introductions was the acceptance of Buddhism in the second century BC, which brought a new religious and philosophical culture and its attendant art and iconography. New styles of figure painting and sculpture were required, as well as new patterns of temple layout, furnishing and decoration; their assimilation took many centuries.

Much of the Buddhist art was inspired by Central Asian traditions, which were in their turn derived from North Indian originals.

Large scale sculpture had previously not been a significant native art form.

Mastery of surface decoration evolved in China from an early stage… the motifs used survive to this day as painted decoration on ceramics.

Since the reign of the Han dynasty, painting and calligraphy have been the most highly esteemed branches of expressive art. Practiced by the literati, these arts have been woven into their philosophy of life. Calligraphy, long regards as a serious art form, is expressive of the strength of character of the writer and therefore capable of transmitting far more than words.

Any attempt to characterize the Chinese style must incorporate the complexity of a culture constructed without discarding anything over five thousand years. A peculiarly sophisticated handling of archaism seems to have kept a self-confident taste intact and created a many-faceted style.

Some of the pottery works made look incredibly contemporary in their planar styling cues.