Art history 2

Taj Mahal- Mughal Period

-one of the most celebrated buildings in the world

-built by mughal ruler Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz-i-Mahal

- hasht behisht- "eight paradises" a plan named for the 8 small chambers that ring the interior

-iwan- vaulted opening with an arched portal

-total of 16 chambers

- domed ceilings

Mugals were the most succesful of the many islamic groups that established themselves in india

• Art was mostly inspired by 3 religions:
• 1. Buddhism
• 2. Hinduism
• 3. Jainism

- Buddhist centers were concentrated in the northeast in the region rulled by the Pala Dynasty

-attracted monks from China, Korea, and Japan then cultivating a form of buddihims known as Tantric (vajrayana) Mahayana

-Spiritual leader called Mahavira

-Mahavira regards to the final in a series of 24 saviors known as pathfinders, or tirthankavas

-zone of pure existence at the zenith of the universe

-Jain monks live a life of austerity and even laypersons avoid killing any living thing

- dominant religious tradition of india

- hindu temples spurred by the ambitious building programs of wealthy rulers, well formulated regional styles

-spectacular structures of the era were monumental, with a complexity and grandeur of proportion unequaled

-temples very complex and more moderatley scaled yet more richly ornamented individual temples

- these developments took place in the south of india

-temple building in north consolidated by islamic rule

-mightest of the southern hindu kingdoms- vijayanagar

- vijayanagar kings- viewed themselves as defenders and preservers of hindu faith and culture

-lavished donation on sacred shrines

The Birth of Mahavira (Kalpa Sutra)- Jain art

• - region of Gujarat
• -illustrated manuscript
• -1st Jain manuscript on paper rather than palm leaf
• -decorative pavilions and a shrine with peacocks on the roof suggest a luxurious palace setting
• - 2 dimensional against red or blue ground
• -the angles and tense curves is closely linked to the aesthetics of sanskrit caligraphy

Nadir al-zaman- Jahangir and Shah Abbas- Mughal art

• -imperrialism
• -portrait
• -sense of superiority and strength
• - Jahangir is depicted more largerly
• -Shah Abbas was a persian emperor

Anish Kappor- As if to celebrate I Discovered a Mtn. Blooming with Red Flowers

• - inspiration from his indian orgins
• - contemporary
• - pigments
• - red and ocher mounds recall the vermilion
• -Kappor represented Britain

Wapepe Navigation Chart

• -celestial navigation (navigating by the sun, moon and stars as well as ocean currents and trade winds)
• -Sailors used this
• - to teach navigaition used stick charts (wapepe or mattang)
• -mattang- maps that showed land
• -currents-sticks held together by cocunut fibers
• -shell- marked islands on the route
• -combination of clarity, simplicity, and abstration has an aesthetic impact

Palace Door by Olowe of Ise- African Art

• -yoruba people
• - asymmetrical compostion combines narrative and symbolic scenes in horizontal and rectangular panels
• - appear taller
• -arinjale (king) of ise receiving Major Reeve Tucker, the first british traveling commisioner for the province
• -lifting of breasts- gesture of generosity and affection peformed by elder women
• -bottom panel is a human sacrifice
• -2 rows of heads on left side of panel represent either ancestors of the arinjale or enemies taken in battle

-nomadic people from the steppes north of china, began to amass an empire

Zhao Mengfu- Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains

• -handscroll
• -red symbols-stamps of people who owned it
• -depict landscape
• -earlier tang dynasty
• -tang dynasty was when the country was both militarily strong and culturally vibrant
• - evoked a nostalgia not only for his friends distant homeland but also for chinas past

• favored literatti- hand scrolls, hanging scrolls or album leaves (book page)
• -daoist thinking-nude in nature
• -served yuan government and was made a high official
• - known for his painting of horses
• -"spirit of antiquity"

Yin Hong- Hundreds of birds Admiring the Peacocks

• -imperial courtstyle
• -parallel thinking
• -court style
• -ming dynasty
• -large painting on silk
• - birds and flower genre, which was popular with artists of the song academy
• -homage of birds to the peacocks represent the homage of court officials to emperor

• Flask
• -ming dynasty
• -type of pottery
• -porcelain
• -vigorous decoration of dragons writhing above the sea
• -flawless glazing embody the high achievement of Ming Artisans
• -Xuande Emperor

• -traditional chiniese archetecture
• -ming dynasty
• -walled rectangular city
• - center reserved for mongols
• -symetrical and logical
• -horizonatal and vertical
• -royal residense

Shitao- Landscape

• -monk
• -qing dynasty
• -individualist
• -monk sits in a hut
• -dots-vegetation on rocks
• -rocks seem alive- about to swallow up the monk and hit hut
• - identify himself with the fallen ming
• -secured world turned to chaos

Sin Yunbok- Picnic at the Lotus Pond

• -Joseon Dynasty
• -Korean style inspired by silhak or "practical learning"
• -silhak attitude
• -aristocratic figures in native korean garb
• -album leaf
• -gisaeng- female entertainers
• -gayageum-stringed instrument, most hallow of all korean musical instruments

Gopura of the Minakshi-Sundareshuara Temple -Hindu

• -Hindu
• -taller than ouside
• -figural decoration
• -temple of mandurai
• -the focus of mandurai life
• -dramatic features such as 1000 pillar halls, large ritual- bathing pools
• -gopuras- entrance gate ways which tower above the temple site and the surrounding city like modern sky scrapers
• -gopuras proliferated as the city grew
• -11 gopuras

Buddah Calling Earth to Witness -BUDHIST

• -thervada budhism
• - sri lanka- iconographical and stylistic elements reached a height of perfection
• -interpreted as a flame of divine knowledge
• -few elegant lines
• -mudras-hand gestures

Katsushika Hokusai- The Great Wave

• -woodblock print
• -36 views of mt. fuji
• -souvenirs of their era

Kano Eitoku- Fusuma

• -Momoyama period
• -fusuma-paper covered sliding doors
• -left panel is the familar school theme of cranes and pine, both symbols of long life
• -right panel is a great gnarled plum tree, symbol of spring

Hon ami Koetsu- Teabowl, called Mount Fuji

• -edo period
• -famous asa calligrapher but also a painter

Hakuin Ekaku- Giant Daruma (Bodhidharma)

• -edo period
• -zen form
• -see your own nature and become buddha
• -meditation in front of temple

The Goddess Coatlicue

• -aztec
• -mother of huitzilopochtli
• -mother goddes both protective and destructive
• -coatilicue means "she of the serpent skirt"
• -skirt of twisted snakes
• -simple, bold, and blocky forms create and impression of solidity
• -head chopped off

Machu Picchu

• -Inca
• -9,000 ft above sealevel
• - courtyard shrines
• -religuous function

Chilkat Blanket

• - tlingit people
• -mountain goatwool and shredded cedar bark
• -men drew the patterns on the boards
• -women woven the patterns into the blankets
• -represents the body of a large stylized creature perhaps a sea bear (a fur seal)
• -image has 2 basic elements:
• 1. ovoid-a slightly bent rectangle with rounded corners
• 2. formline-a continuous shape defining line

Maria Montoya Martinez and Julian Martinez-Blackware Storage Jar

• -best know pueldo potter
• -ceramic
• -womens are among pueblo people
• -matte-dull non gloss
• -matte black forms on a lustrous black background

Asmat Ancestral Sprit Poles

• -asmat-live in grasslands, known as head hunters and warriors
• -to honor the dead the Asmat erected memorial poles covered with elaborate sculpture
• - poles are known as mbis
• -rituals surrounding them are intended to reestablish the balance between life and death
• -house the souls of the recent dead
• - after the mbis ceremonies the poles are abadoned and allowed to deteriorate
• -trees-human beings
• -fruit-human heads (equivalent to fruit eating birds)

Moai Ancestor Figures

• -eastern island, polynesia
• -volcanic stone
• -stone temples- "ma rae"
• -stone altar platforms- "ahu"
• -built near coast parallel to share
• -most moais were knocked down and destroyed during the period of warfare

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri- Man's Love Story

• -abstract expressionism
• -dots represent seeds, both from food
• - paint on canvas
• - founder of the papunya
• - shifting colors and lights
• -seems abstract but really but really conveys a narrative involving 2 mythical ancestors
• 1. one ancestor came to papunya in search of honey ants (the left white U shape represents him seated in front of a water hole with an ants nest, represented by the concentric circles. The straight white line "journey line" represents his trek from the west
• 2. the 2nd ancestor represented by the brown and white U-shaped form came from the east leaving foot prints and sat down by another water hole near by

Twin Figures (Ere Ibeji)

• -yoruba
• -birth of twins is a joyful occasion
• -dead child continues its life in spirit
• -twin mean ere ibeji, when one dies a carving is made to serve as a dwelling place for the deceased twins spirit
• - the figures are female
• -artist is akiode
• -health and well being
• -beautiful glossy surfaces to sugest they are well fed
• -represent hope for the future, for survival and for prosperity