Chang Dai-chien (1899-1983), one of the most celebrated Chinese painters of the twentieth century, is renowned for his stylistic variety and unparalleled productivity. This book explores three key artistic dimensions-Chang's early ink paintings emulating ancient Chinese styles, his lively portrayals of nature made while residing in Brazil and California, and the transcendent splashed-ink art of his later years. Stunning reproductions of masterworks and insightful texts come together to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Chang's birth and his lasting connection to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. See the Chang Dai-chien exhibit at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco: November 26, 2019-April 26, 2020

Insightful quotes written in Tibetan calligraphy are paired with photos of Buddhas from around the world to create this collection of timeless iconography. Calligraphy has held an honored place in the spiritual traditions of Tibet. Monks dedicate their lives to mastering the many subtleties of the art, often spending years transcribing sacred Buddhist manuscripts. The carefully composed lines and deliberate spatial awareness in each work of calligraphy within Sacred Scripts encourage reflection, mindfulness, and meditation. Within these pages, sacred mantras, seed syllables, and Buddhist quotes are presented in authentic Tibetan scripts. Photos of Buddha statues from around the world complement the calligraphy and create an ethereal mood of serenity. Addressing the stresses of our modern world and the demise of spiritual languages, Sacred Scripts provides insight and inspiration for attaining inner peace and well-being.

As an important part of Chinese culture, Lingnan culture, mainly those in Guangdong province, plays a key role in the world culture. Elegant Guangdong Series cover 5 subjects of the Lingnan cultural and traditional gems in South China. Each volume has used vivid and precious illustrations and portraits. Gambiered Canton Gauze outlines the birth, evolution, dyeing and finishing process, prospect of this ethereal silk fabric in South China.

Best known for his depictions of fierce samurai warriors in battle, Utagawa Kuniyoshi also produced landscapes, portraits of Kabuki actors, and images of mythical animals. His dynamic action scenes and fantastic creatures are recognized today as precursors of manga and anime. This dazzling volume by Matthi Forrer, one of the leading experts on ukiyo-e art, traces Kuniyoshi's entire career. Chapters look at the major aspects of Kuniyoshi's oeuvre; his book illustrations and portraits of fashionable women; his enormously popular series featuring actors, warriors, and landscapes; and the influence of Western art on his career. Meticulous, large-scale reproductions highlight the work's clear outlines, elegantly muted palette, and precise details-from electrifying depictions of a tiger, mid-pounce, and light-hearted interpretations of Chinese folktales, to the terrifying figures of samurai swordsmen and romantic winter landscapes. A Japanese-style binding and box complete this luxurious package that promises an endlessly absorbing journey into the life of Kuniyoshi during the latter days of Japan's Edo period.

This volume explores the prehistoric beginnings of Chinese art and its development during the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties. It analyses the conditions of the emergence of Chinese art and its transformation of form, content and function throughout the Three Dynasties, a historical period marked by important changes in the social and cultural Chinese landscape. A General History of Chinese Art comprises six volumes with a total of nine parts spanning from the Prehistoric Era until the 3rd year of Xuantong during the Qing Dynasty (1911). The work provides a comprehensive compilation of in-depth studies of the development of art throughout the subsequent reign of Chinese dynasties and explores the emergence of a wide range of artistic categories such as but not limited to music, dance, acrobatics, singing, story telling, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, and crafts. Unlike previous reference books, A General History of Chinese Art offers a broader overview of the notion of Chinese art by asserting a more diverse and less material understanding of arts, as has often been the case in Western scholarship.

This volume studies the evolution of Chinese art during the Qin and Han Dynasties, The Three Kingdoms, Eastern and Western Jin, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It traces the initial artistic vocabularies of Chinese calligraphy as well as the rapid development of the performing and the decorative arts. A General History of Chinese Art comprises six volumes with a total of nine parts spanning from the Prehistoric Era until the 3rd year of Xuantong during the Qing Dynasty (1911). The work provides a comprehensive compilation of in-depth studies of the development of art throughout the subsequent reign of Chinese dynasties and explores the emergence of a wide range of artistic categories such as but not limited to music, dance, acrobatics, singing, story telling, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, and crafts. Unlike previous reference books, A General History of Chinese Art offers a broader overview of the notion of Chinese art by asserting a more diverse and less material understanding of arts, as has often been the case in Western scholarship.

This volume covers Chinese art during the reign of the Sui and Tang Dynasties during which the various disciplines of plastic and performing arts all entered a stage of unprecedented prosperity and development. It also traces new explorations in calligraphy, painting, and mural art and highlights architectural achievements during the historic period. A General History of Chinese Art comprises six volumes with a total of nine parts spanning from the Prehistoric Era until the 3rd year of Xuantong during the Qing Dynasty (1911). The work provides a comprehensive compilation of in-depth studies of the development of art throughout the subsequent reign of Chinese dynasties and explores the emergence of a wide range of artistic categories such as but not limited to music, dance, acrobatics, singing, story telling, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, and crafts. Unlike previous reference books, A General History of Chinese Art offers a broader overview of the notion of Chinese art by asserting a more diverse and less material understanding of arts, as has often been the case in Western scholarship.

This volume examines the progress of Chinese art during the time period of the Five Dynasties, Northern and Southern Song, Liao, Western Xia, Jin Dynasties as well as the Yuan Dynasty. A special focus lies on the analysis of cultural policies adopted during the reign of the respective dynasties and their effects on the development of dance, court music and drama. A General History of Chinese Art comprises six volumes with a total of nine parts spanning from the Prehistoric Era until the 3rd year of Xuantong during the Qing Dynasty (1911). The work provides a comprehensive compilation of in-depth studies of the development of art throughout the subsequent reign of Chinese dynasties and explores the emergence of a wide range of artistic categories such as but not limited to music, dance, acrobatics, singing, story telling, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, and crafts. Unlike previous reference books, A General History of Chinese Art offers a broader overview of the notion of Chinese art by asserting a more diverse and less material understanding of arts, as has often been the case in Western scholarship.

This volume investigates the artistic development during the Qing Dynasty, the last of imperial Chinese dynasties, and shows the importance of opera and playwriting during this time period. Further analysis is dedicated to the development of scroll painting and the revival of calligraphy and seal carving. A General History of Chinese Art comprises six volumes with a total of nine parts spanning from the Prehistoric Era until the 3rd year of Xuantong during the Qing Dynasty (1911). The work provides a comprehensive compilation of in-depth studies of the development of art throughout the subsequent reign of Chinese dynasties and explores the emergence of a wide range of artistic categories such as but not limited to music, dance, acrobatics, singing, story telling, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, and crafts. Unlike previous reference books, A General History of Chinese Art offers a broader overview of the notion of Chinese art by asserting a more diverse and less material understanding of arts, as has often been the case in Western scholarship.

A groundbreaking method for writing art history, using the language of geometry.   How do we embark on a history of art from the assumption of a global majority, outside of essentializing categories like race or hollow proclamations of solidarity? With this book, Joan Kee presents a framework for understanding the rich and surprisingly understudied relationship between Black and Asian artists and the worlds they initiate through their work.   The Geometries of Afro Asia breaks down this relationship and chronology into points, angles, and trajectories. Spanning North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Kee looks at the relationships that formed between Black and Asian artists at critical historical junctures—from civil rights struggles in the United States and the development of South Korea amid US military occupation in the 1960s and 1970s to debates over multiculturalism and critiques of globalization in the 1990s and 2010s. Through geometry, a language of magnitudes and alignments, Kee opens up new ways of seeing how artworks shape our lives and politics by getting us to commit some of our most valuable resources—time and attention—to one another.

In this expansive study, John Clark draws on decades of his research on modern art cultures across Asia from 1850 to the present day. The Asian Modern uses an artist-centric approach, by way of meticulous case studies, to create a new comparative paradigm for the narration of art. “Affiliations of place,� claims John Clark, rather than “genealogies of time,� is key to clarifying the category of “the Asian Modern.� [...] The transfer is from an extractive art history obsessed with pedigree and derivations, on the one hand, to a redistributive art history, on the other, that is possible only through the reciprocities and fundamental obligations between persons and things. Absent the latter, there can be no future for art history in Asia. —Patrick D. Flores, Professor of Art Studies, University of the Philippines, introduction to The Asian Modern

Meet the artist whose majestic breaking wave sent ripples across the world. Hokusai (1760-1849) is not only one of the giants of Japanese art and a legend of the Edo period, but also a founding father of Western modernism, whose prolific gamut of prints, illustrations, paintings, and beyond forms one of the most comprehensive oeuvres of ukiyo-e art and a benchmark of japonisme. His influence spread through Impressionism, Art Nouveau, and beyond, enrapturing the likes of Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, and Vincent van Gogh. Hokusai was always a man on the move. He changed domicile more than 90 times during his lifetime and changed his own name through over 30 pseudonyms. In his art, he adopted the same restlessness, covering the complete spectrum of Japanese ukiyo-e,"pictures of the floating world", from single-sheet prints of landscapes and actors to erotic books. In addition, he created album prints, illustrations for verse anthologies and historical novels, and surimono, which were privately issued prints for special occasions. Hokusai's print series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, published between c. 1830 and 1834 is the artist's most renowned work and, with its soaring peak through different seasons and from different vantage points, marked the towering summit of the Japanese landscape print. The series' Under the Wave off Kanagawa, also known simply as The Great Wave, is one of the most recognized images of Japanese art in the world. This TASCHEN introduction spans the length and breadth of Hokusai's career with key pieces from his far-reaching portfolio. Through these meticulous, majestic works and series, we trace the variety of Hokusai's subjects, from erotic books to historical novels, and the evolution of his vivid formalism and decisive delineation of space through color and line that would go on to liberate Western art from the constraints of its one-point perspective and unleash the modernist momentum. About the series Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

A FAMILY STORY AND THE TALE OF A NATION. Ai Weiwei - one of the world's most famous artists and activists - weaves a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own life and that of his father, Ai Qing, the nation's most celebrated poet. 'Engrossing...a remarkable story' Sunday Times Here, through the sweeping lens of his own and his father's life, Ai Weiwei tells an epic tale of China over the last 100 years, from the Cultural Revolution to the modern-day Chinese Communist Party. Here is the story of a childhood spent in desolate exile after his father, Ai Qing, once China's most celebrated poet, fell foul of the authorities. Here is his move to America as a young man and his return to China, his rise from unknown to art-world superstar and international rights activist. Here is his extraordinary account of how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime. It's the story of a father and a son, of exceptional creativity and passionate belief, and of how two indomitable spirits enabled the world to understand their country. 'A story of inherited resilience and self-determination' Observer 'A majestic and exquisitely serious masterpiece about his China... One of the great voices of our time' Andrew Solomon 'Intimate, unflinching...an instant classic' Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition

"Our first encounter with these Tibetan medical paintings is filled with delight, wonder, and pleasure. Their boisterous colors, their exquisite detail, their marvelous array of subject matter, the often playful and energetic figures that people them - all these perceptions strike us at once. We are drawn to the paintings instantly but at the same time are beset with questions." - Janet Gyatso, from the Introduction The first full set of Tibetan medical paintings, or medical tangkas, were painted between 1687 and 1703 and were inspired by Sangye Gyatso, Regent of the Fifth Dalai Lama, who was a great patron of medical learning. In a beautiful and unique artistic style, the paintings illustrate Tibetan medical knowledge that drew on medical traditions from India, ancient Greece, Persia, pre-Buddhist Tibet, and China, while remaining firmly rooted in Buddhism. Copies of the iconic images have been created in meticulous detail through the centuries and Body and Spirit focuses on a set of contemporary paintings in the traditional technique by the Nepalese artist Romio Shrestha and his assistants in Kathmandu. The tangkas illuminate human anatomy and the causes and effects of illness, as well as their diagnosis and treatment. Most of the paintings consist of rows of small human figures, animals, plants, minerals, houses, landscapes, and demons and deities, depicting the rich complexity of human endeavor: farming, animal husbandry, personal hygiene, marriage, sex, birthing, fighting, sleeping, studying, and meditating. The thousands of small and large images were designed to add visual form to the technical information: an eye-pleasing teaching aid for medical students.

Newly revised and expanded, this second edition of Timon Screech's definitive "Sex and the Floating World" offers a real assessment of the genre of Japanese paintings and prints today known as shunga. Changes in Japanese law in the 1990s enabled erotic images to be published without fear of prosecution, and many shunga picture-books have since appeared. There has, however, been very little attempt to situate the imagery within the contexts of sexuality, gender or power. Questions of aesthetics, and of whether shunga deserve a place in the official history of Japanese art, have dominated, and the question of the use of these images has been avoided. Timon Screech seeks to re-establish shunga in a proper historical frame of culture and creativity. Shunga prints are not like any other form of picture for the simple fact that they are overtly about sex. And once we begin to examine them first and foremost as sexual apparatus, then we must be prepared for some surprises. The author opens up for us the strange world of sexual fantasy in the Edo culture of eighteenth-century Japan, and investigates the tensions in class and gender of those that made and made use of shunga.

Shafik Gabr started his collection of Orientalist art in 1993 by acquiring a painting by Ludwig Deutsch entitled Egyptian Priest Entering a Temple. His collection is today amongst the very few in the world to count such a large number of works by the famed Austrian artist as well as some of the finest examples of the greatest masters of Orientalism such as Jean-Leon Gerome, Frederick Arthur Bridgman, Gustav Bauernfeind and many others. Important for both scholars and art lovers, the Shafik Gabr Collection impresses us with its richness and variety. It includes masterpieces by some of the major nineteenth and twentieth century Orientalists found in private hands today and demonstrates the owner's appreciation of differences as well as similarities in European visions of the versatile and diverse Orient. The selection of paintings in this collection illustrates the owner's evolving taste, his relationship with the world of Orientalism and his interest in its European expression. This Orientalist collection is a harmonious "kaleidoscope" of genres, presenting the Orient through a variety of forms, styles and techniques, and revealing to the European viewer the mysterious East with its bright colours, its exotic and leisurely lifestyle. Over the years, it has become one of the most complete and magnificent tributes dedicated to the world of Orientalism and as such some of the most renowned experts in this field have contributed to this book in order to mark its importance in the art world. Lavishly illustrated, Masterpieces of Orientalist Art: The Shafik Gabr Collection also includes essays by distinguished Orientalist scholars.

Selected papers from the 16th Conference of the InternationalAssociation for Ladakh Studies (Heidelberg 17-20 April, 2013)1. Alchi Tsatsapuri: Notes on the History of an Early Monumentby Andre Alexander;2. Lost and Gone Forever: Notes on the Demolition of the Red Temple of Hunderby Noor Jahan Chunka and Gerald Kozicz;3. Fortifications of Ladakh: A Brief Chrono-Typology by Quentin Devers;4. The Munshi House in Leh: A Building History by John Harrison;5. Castles and Defensive Architecture in Purig: An Introduction, Survey andPreliminary Analysis by Neil Howard;6. The Old Stupa of Matho by Gerald Kozicz;7. Visual Representation of Ladakh and Zangskar in the British Library's WiseCollection by Diana Lange;8. Siddhas and Sociality: A Seventeenth-Century Lay Illustrated; Buddhist Manuscriptin Kumik Village, Zangskar (A Preliminary Report) by Rob Linrothe;9. Trees-of-Life, Aquatic Creatures and Other Enigmatic Motifs on Ladakhi WoodArt: What They Tell Us About Art History by Heinrich Poll;10. The Life of Buddha Sakyamuni in the Byams pa lha khang of Basgo, Ladakh byVerena Ziegler.

The essays in this book trace a rich continuum of artistic exchange that occurred between successive Islamic dynasties from the twelfth through nineteenth centuries as well as the influence of Islamic art during that time on cultures as far away as China, Armenia, India, and Europe. Taking advantage of recent technologies that allow new ways of peering into the pasts of art objects, the authors break new ground in their exploration of the art and architecture of the Islamic world. The essays range across a variety of topics. These include a look at tile production during the reign of the Qaytbay, the book bindings associated with Qansuh al-Ghuri, and the relationship between Mamluk metalwork and that found in Rasulid Yemen and Italy. Several essays examine inscriptions found on buildings of the Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods, and others look at the debt of European lacquer works to Persian craftsmen, the Armenian patrons of eighteenth-century Chinese exports, and the influences of Islam on art and architecture found all across India. The result is a sweeping but deeply researched look at one of the richest networks of artistic traditions the world has ever known. "

The MFA's holdings of Japanese art make up the finest and most comprehensive collection outside of Japan. This stunning overview features many of the collection's best-known and most beloved works, including such rare paintings as the eighth-century Buddhist panel "Shaka, the Historical Buddha, Preaching on Vulture Peak" and the thirteenth-century narrative hand-scroll "Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace" (the most exciting section of the celebrated Heiji monogatari scrolls), along with fine examples from the Museum's unsurpassed grouping of woodblock prints, magnificent sculptures such as a gilt-wooden statue of the bodhisattva Miroku by the twelfth-century master Kaikei, plus a representative selection of postcards, textiles, ceramics, lacquer wares, sword-fittings and other decorative arts. In all, more than 160 highlights from the museum's staggering collection are illustrated and discussed, divided into four themes--Art of the Temple, The Town, The Ruling Classes and Japanese Art in the World. Ranging from the seventh century to the present day, this engaging volume introduces readers to the complex variety and renowned brilliance of Japanese arts.