ARTH183 1st Edition Lecture 15Outline of Last LectureI. Six Dynasties Period: The Eastern Jin (265-420 CE)A.The Eastern Jin Dynasty: capital, significant material culturea. Artist attributionb. Handscrolls-Why well-suited to this time period-How they were used and viewedB. “Admonitions of the Court Instructress to the Palace Ladies”a. Gu Kaiszhib. Form (paint on silk)-Seal impressions: what they mean, who made themc. Subject-Connection to Confucianismd. Typical Chinese depictions of the human form; characteristicse. Typical Chinese pictorial arts; characteristicsII. Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) Chinese ArtA. The Tang Dynasty: capital, effects on countrya. The Silk Roadb. Religious openness-Expansion of Buddhism’s role in societyB. “Vairochana and Attendants”a. Patron; their historical significanceb. Subject-VairochanaOutline of Current Lecture I. Tang Dynasty Chinese Art: “Vairochana and Attendants” ContinuedA. IconographyB. Stylea. Guptan influenceC. Buddhist figure grouping characteristics; how are they visible herea. The 4 Heavenly Kings; iconography, styleb. Vajrapani figures; iconography, styleII. Dunhuang Cave Temple SiteA. Historical significance of siteThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.B. “Western Pure Land”; definition/description of Pure Lands, use of imagerya. Amitabha, his cult and identifiersb. Typical composition, features of Pure Land imagesc. Style-Significance of shading and highlighting-Guptan influenceC. “Bodhisattva Guide of Souls”; format, origina. Subject; how we can tell-Avalokiteshvara; who he is, iconography-Cartoucheb. Style-Distinctive aspects (color, depiction of bodhisattva and female soul)III. Tang Dynasty Court ArtA. “Thirteen Emperors”; artist, format, dating issuesa. Tang court artist familiesb. Subjectc. Style; figures set against blank ground, character of lines and paletteCurrent LectureTang Dynasty Chinese Art: “Vairochana and Attendants” ContinuedIconographically, the central Buddha has normal Buddha hallmarks (nothing specifically to identify him as Vairochana); costume of Chinese court robes seen in earlier sculpture has gone away and been replaced with traditional Indian/South Asian style monk’s robes. The overall style is reminiscent of Gupta Period Buddhist art (round face with full, fleshy cheeks; downcast eyes and solemn face; string drapery; bow-shaped, curvilinear, full lips; clearly delineated hair curls; botanical elements in halos)-this period sees a new wave of influence from South and Southeast Asia coming mostly overland by way of the Silk Road. Still, Tang Dynasty Buddhas and bodhisattvas tend to represented with Chinese facial features-In groupings of Buddhist figures, formality tends to decrease moving away from the center as emotion and movement increase; here, Vairochana acts as the still center, the flanking monk figures directly next to him are fairly frontal and static, bodhisattvas next to them have a slight contrapposto, and the guardian figures beyond are even more active, expressive, and informal*2 of the guardian figures are 2 of the 4 Heavenly Kings, who are believedto each guard one of the cardinal directions and are identifiable by their attributes-a popular subject in Southeast Asia. Dressed in Chinese-style armor, one stands on top of a figure representing either evil or ignorance; tend to be shown in a more active posture*Other 2 guardian figures are Vajrapani figures: Depicted with even more movement, face is very expressive and angry, hand is raised in a protective gesture; tend to be shown bare-chested, muscular, and flexing, suggesting energy and their guardian functionDunhuang Cave Temple SiteLocated in the far Northwest; a desert region with few oases, difficult portion of the Silk Road to come through. This is the 1st location we know in China where a cave temple site was created, and it was continually occupied and worked on for many years afterward-at one point housed a community of Buddhist monks. The climate helped preserve the caves and their decoration-“Western Pure Land.” Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuan. Tang Dynasty, ca. 708-781 CE: Pure Lands=Buddhist heavens; each Buddha was thought to have their own and believers might be reborn in them. 2 very popular ones were the Pure Land of Maitreya and that of Amitabha, the Buddha of the West (had a large cult following because it made getting into this pure land as simple and easy as chanting his name). Paintings of Pure Lands were used for visualization exercises where believers would visualize themselves in heaven to try and reach it. There are many images of this popular East Asian subject at this time.*Composition for Pure Land images=usually the Buddha is at the center flanked by his 2 main bodhisattvas and then other bodhisattvas and figures; in front of the Buddha is a lotus pond where souls slowly emerge into the Pure Land out of the blossoms. Often see musicians playing, people dancing, palatial architecture, beautiful foliage, use of bluesand greens that will come to be associated with representations of Paradise*Style: See use of shading and highlighting brought into China during the Tang dynasty (not seen beforehand and doesn’t always persist afterward); different skin tones used for bodhisattvas; curving forms dominate the composition; facial features have same Gupta-like characteristics; variety of poses are implemented to add interest to the composition and create a more realistic sense of spatial relations*Amitabha is usually pictured making the “turning the wheel of the law” mudra-“Bodhisattva Guide of Souls.” Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuan. Tang Dynasty, ca. 875-900 CE: A vertical hanging scroll/banner painted on silk actually from the Tang Dynasty, not a later copy; comes from a cave that had been filled up with artifacts and artworks and then sealed up behind a wall for unknown reasons (archive or protective horde). A lot of the materials found here are now in foreign countries by way of foreign archaeologists buying or taking them from the site.*Subject: A cartouche (set-apart area containing writing) says the painting’s name. It probably depicts Avalokiteshvara, Amitabha’s main bodhisattva (holds attribute of lotus blossom); there was a belief that praying to Amitabha on one’s deathbed would lead to him or Avalokiteshvara coming to lead you to heaven/the Western