East Asian Paintings Research Articles

The influence of culture on the viewing of Western and East Asian paintings.

The influence of British and Chinese culture on the viewing of paintings from Western and East Asian traditions was explored in an old/new discrimination task. Accuracy data were considered alongside signal detection measures of sensitivity and bias. The results showed participant culture and painting tradition interacted but only with respect to response bias and not sensitivity. Eye movements were also recorded during encoding and discrimination. Paintings were split into regions of interest defined by faces, or the theme and context in order to analyse the eye movement data. With respect to the eye movement data, the results showed that a match between participant culture and painting tradition increased the viewing of faces in paintings at the expense of the viewing of other locations, an effect interpreted as a manifestation of the Other Race Effect on the viewing of paintings. There was, however, no evidence of broader influence of culture on the eye movements made to paintings as might be expected if culture influenced the allocation of attention more generally. Taken together, these findings suggest culture influences the viewing of paintings but only in response to challenges to the encoding of faces.

Representations of Edo-­Tokyo in Illustrations

This paper follows the process of development of visual representations of Edo in publications from its origins in the XVII century to the XIX century when the city began modernization. They primarily took the forms of illustrations of guidebooks or geographies depicting ‘noted places' such as temples and shrines. Due to the prosperity of the city and the development of its own culture, they opened up a new avenue of picture books of ‘noted places' illustrated by ukiyoe artists who played important roles in fostering the unique culture of the city. The idea of ‘noted places' was expanded to include the locations where its citizens enjoyed seasonal outings through those picture books. These pictures often focused on human figures at these places as their backgrounds, while landscape expression with perspective introduced from the West was also developed in these picture books. In the process of evolution of illustrated works of the city, depictions of people enjoying their lives was continuously essential. The fact is convincing when we take into consideration that representations of cities in the history of East Asian paintings often reflected not only their realities but also the desires of those involved in producing them. The presence of people who led pleasant lives there was necessary to complete the image of the ideal cities. Representations of Edo-Tokyo also sought to keep images of its state in older times within them in various ways. It would appear to be a method of preserving the memory of the city which was repeatedly destroyed by fires and earthquakes and continuously changing its appearance.

Adapting a Japanese Facing Technique to the Treatment of an American Landscape Plan

ABSTRACT Facings have a long history in the treatment of East Asian paintings on silk or paper to protect the surface of the painting during remounting. Materials and methods vary, but most facings involve the temporary attachment of some type of paper to the surface of the work with water or a weak, water-soluble adhesive. Contemporary Japanese practices have developed a multi-layered facing process using rayon paper and Japanese kozo paper, adhered together with funori, a natural seaweed adhesive, and wheat starch paste. The resulting composite is designed to provide a balance of protection, support, flexibility and removability as well as to extend and control treatment time. Adapting this facing process can facilitate the treatment of works on paper that are too damaged to handle safely or treatments where staff are limited. Past cases describe the removal of drawings, and historic wallpaper from secondary supports or mounts using facings. As there is limited information on Japanese facings available in published literature, this article describes the materials and methods of the original process in detail and applies its use to the treatment of a severely damaged nineteenth-century American landscape plan.

Supplemental Material for The Influence of Culture on the Viewing of Western and East Asian Paintings

Supplemental Material for The Influence of Culture on the Viewing of Western and East Asian Paintings

Imaging spectroscopies to characterize a 13th century Japanese handscroll, The Miraculous Interventions of Jiz\u014d Bosatsu

Scientific imaging of a large fragile work of art can be especially challenging, but especially rewarding to better grasp the complexity and changes that have occurred during its creation and lifetime. Here, noninvasive imaging, macro X-ray fluorescence (MAXRF) imaging spectroscopy and reflectance imaging spectroscopy, from the visible to the near infrared spectral range, are utilized to document a 14-m-long Japanese narrative handscroll, The Miraculous Interventions of Jizō Bosatsu. Due to the scroll’s age and its handling during past use as a teaching tool, it has a number of conservation needs and shows evidence of past repairs. The scroll has extensive and severe creasing, breaks and tears, as well as unstable and powdering pigments. Microscopic observation and scientific analyses were performed both to document the current condition of the scroll and to better understand its long history. Combining RIS and MAXRF allowed for pigment characterization through elemental and molecular information. While RIS and MAXRF previously have been applied to the study of other painted materials, their application to East Asian paintings is rare. The obstacles of the scroll’s length and fragile uneven surface were overcome by optimizing the setups of the two imaging systems. The MAXRF and RIS analyses, here focused on a select scene of the scroll, found certain original pigments common in early Japanese scroll paintings were used frequently, such as vermilion, iron-based compounds (yellow and red ochres), and copper-containing greens, while others occurred sparingly, such as azurite and red lead. A chloride-containing lead-based white pigment was employed. Faded organic colorants, notably indigo as well as an organic yellow/brown, could be detected but their vibrancy has been muted over the centuries. In the case of indigo, it may be visibly observed in some areas; however, analysis revealed its previously unknown presence mixed with a copper green in a select area. This focused study sets a foundation for further studies on both this object and other Asian works of art.

오래된 그림에 그리기: 동양화에 대한 물음 그리고 되살리기

자전적 서술의 본고는 대학에서 우연히 동양화를 전공하고, 졸업 후 일상을 살아가면서 갖게 된 동양화에 대한 물음으로부터 시작되었다. 이 물음은 자기 치유적 과정으로서의 작업으로, 교육 프로그램으로 개발한 “자아를 찾아가는 미술여행”으로 연결되었다. 이 프로그램은 동아시아 문인들의 전통 교육을 시서화(詩書畵) 수행으로 보고, 이를 근거로 현대적으로 적용한 “자기표현 워크샵”의 일환으로 사회단체에서 20년 이상 진행되어 왔다. 그들의 시, 서, 화는 같은 기원으로서, 일원론적 세계관 안에서 동양철학을 근간으로 하는 서화일률(書畫一律)적 표현이었다. 그러나 근대화와 더불어 정신성을 잃은 채 시, 서, 화로 파편화되고, 그 정체성이 형식 중심의 기능적 측면으로 남았다. 이의 원인은 근대 데카르트적 관점의 이분법에 의한 동양 전통의 주변화와 왜곡에 있다. 이에 본고는 우선 시서화의 형식적 관점에서 합일성에서 전통적 의미를 되찾고자 하였다. 이를 위하여 시서화수행의 교육적, 미학적 가치와 더불어 일상적 측면을 현재적으로 되살릴 필요성을 제기하였다. 첫째, 교육은 서화일률의 시각적 자기표현의 내면화 과정이 자기 치유적 과정으로서, 그 과정은 체현된다. 둘째, 일획으로 통관(通觀)하며 창조되는 시서화에서 기운생동(氣韻生動)을 중시하는 문인들의 미적 태도는 자연과 인간, 몸과 마음, 물질과 정신을 아우르는 생태적 生命美學으로 발현된다. 마지막으로 이러한 시서화의 역할은 문인들의 배움이자 표현으로서 일상적 삶에서 실천하는 풍류적 나눔과 소통에 있다. 시서화는 형식적 기능이 아니라 시서화 삼절적 실천으로 이끌어 잃었던 전통적 가치를 포함하며 초월, 즉 포월(包越)한다. 결국 “나에게 동양화는” 이라는 질문은 그림과 함께 놀며 해답을 찾아가는 여정으로서, 아토그래피(A/R/Tography, artist, researcher, teacher로서의 연구방법)의 정체성으로 오래된 그림을 되살리고자 전통과 현대를 포월하는 자기 치유적 과정이 되었다.

고려 중기의 북송과의 회화 교류

The mid-Goryeo Dynasty (approx. 1050~1150), extended from the new tendencies of early Goryeo paintings, continued from King Munjong to Uijong. This period saw the rise of literati painters, theory, and subject of painting. To begin with, Hwaguk(畵局; the Imperial Painting Academy of Goryeo) was established, and painters such as Lee Nyeong(李寧) who created notable paintings emerged, accelerating a turn to paintings for appreciation. With the accommodation of Eojebijangjeon(御製秘藏詮; including Eojebulbu and Eojejeonwonga) Sansupanhwa(山水版畵; landscape print), Sansuhwa(山水畵; landscape painting) developed. The development of Sansuhwa resulted the start and evolution of Silkyungsansuhwa(實景山水畵; real landscape painting). Also, Buddhist paintings developed with the hyperrealistic style of academic painting. Such qualitative change and shift in the mid-Goryeo dynasty was highly inf luenced by painting exchange with Northern Song led by King Taejo and King Munjong, who was adored as a benevolent and divine king. This study focuses on painting exchange with Northern Song, which played a crucial role in bringing such shift to mid-Goryeo paintings based on written records. On March of the 25th year of Munjong (1071), the alliance between Goryeo and Song resumed. Since then, delegates of each country came and went for about 30 times actively proceeding painting exchange. This was until 1127, when the capital of the Jin Dynasty fell down and Northern Song collapsed. By this, different tendencies of Northern Song paintings which informed the golden ages of Chinese paintings flowed in, and changed Goryeo paintings into medieval ones for appreciation. These tendencies were also used for the establishment of high-degree academic painting style. Investigation on the painting exchange between mid-Goryeo and Northern Song is still unclear; however, this study is critical in means of starting to understand the relationship between Goryeo paintings and the history of East Asian paintings. Therefore, this study plans to restore the true history of Goryeo paintings in both diachronic and synchronic contexts, with detailed analysis and historical research distinct from previous studies which solely displays a list of brief data.

Studies on Sized Silks for East Asian Painting Background

This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of general characteristics of sized silk fabrics for the painting purpose. Two particular types of silk fabrics used for painting background were compared: a recreation of historical material and a mass produced material of present day. The sizing process made the surface characteristics of the silk fabrics more suitable for painting. The dyeing properties of the fabrics were related to the surface area of the fabrics, and had no significant effect on their mechanical properties. The antibacterial activity of the tannin-based natural dyestuffs were maintained after the sizing. The performance assessment by the KES-FB system showed that the fabrics are more prone to deteriorate after the sizing because the glue layer receives the most of the physical stresses.

화문과 화제의 분류체제

This paper is a survey of the systematization and classification of painting divisions(畵門huamen) and painting subjects(畵題huati) from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period to the Song Dynasty period. Painting subjects are titles of works named according to their topic or theme, and painting divisions are kinds of painting subjects sorted by category, such as figure, landscape, and bird-and-flower paintings. Painting divisions, which group the same painting subjects into separate divisions, are also referred to as ‘painting departments’(畵科huake), since they serve the same role as academic departments with respect to paintings. The East Asian painting tradition used such painting divisions to promote the expertise of painters and to evaluate their abilities and used painting subjects to follow the classic works and to propagate and extend them. The intention behind the work, as well as the physical materials used, how the painting is mounted, painting style and criticism, the social status and school, the purpose of enjoymenㅍ t and mode of use, etc. were structuralized and systematized as creative norms and genre conventions under the categories of painting divisions and subjects. Therefore, painting divisions and subjects serve as foundational data in iconological research and provide the core task in understanding the thematic consciousness and substance of East Asian paintings. Discussion of painting divisions and subjects not only elucidates the nature of East Asian paintings, but also is crucial in accurately reconstructing the history of paintings from available materials. The classification of paintings was first mentioned in terms of the Four Divisions(門men) in the 「論畵Lunhua」 by Gu Kaizhi(顧愷之) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty at the end of the fourth century CE. These divisions were further classified into large and small categories in the 『唐朝名畵錄Tangchao minghua lu』 by Zhu Jingxuan(朱景玄), and the 『歷代名畵記Lidai minghua ji』 by Zhang Yanyuan(張彦遠) in the late Tang Dynasty period. The systematization of painting divisions took place in the Song Dynasty. It began in the Northern Song with Liu Daochun`s(劉道醇) 『聖朝名畵評Shengchao minghua ping』(1059), and was continued in Guo Ruoxu`s(郭若虛) 『圖畫見聞志Tuhua jianwen zhi』(1070) and the 『宣和畵譜 Xuanhe huapu』(1123) that sorts the paintings in Emperor Huizong`s imperial collection into ten divisions. In the Southern Song, this was followed by Deng Chun`s (鄧椿) 『畵繼Hua ji』(1167) and Sun Shaoyuan`s(孫紹遠) 『聲畵集Shenghua ji』(1187). This systematization was established by art collectors and critics, all involving classification based on experience, and it is notable that painting activities were sustained through this medium. The collectors and critics aimed to systematize the experiences and outcomes of their historical investigation and evaluation of paintings and artists by locating them in the space of classification, and thereby sought to give a full account of the realm of paintings and its development over time, and also to use this account as a genealogy. Further, during the Northern Song period, a new kind of titling activity became established, along with the emergence of the ‘four-character’ painting subject as ‘wordless poems’, and the adherence to precedents in painting topics.

동아시아 畵題 아카이브의 구축과 활용

The “Comprehensive Research and Digitization Project on Hwaje(畵題) of East Asian Painting” project aims to comprehensively collect, organize, classify, compile and interpret hwaje of literary records and paintings of East Asia, as well as to establish a comprehensive database.BR Hwaje(Kr.) is known as huati in China and gadai in Japan, and it refers to a title, topic, theme, or subject matter of a painting. The term first appeared as titles in paintings, but later on came to encompass critiques, themes, and many other aspects of paintings. Later, hwaje was repeated, became stereotypes, and represented topics that visualized particular iconographies. As a result, in East Asian paintings, hwaje gradually became the most fundamental painting language resonating with the objectives and intentions of an artist.BR In this research project, East Asian hwaje will be comprehensively compiled as an elected database. It will constitute a method of classifying hwaje of paintings, which can emphasize the inherent characteristics of East Asian paintings. Interprets of hwaje will describe the definitions, the literary sources, and the periodical changes in painting styles. The final goal will eventually produce a “Comprehensive Archive of East Asian Hwaje” in the near future.BR The expected usage of the Hwaje Archive are as follows: The Hwaje Archive is to give numerous paintings a precise hwaje. It enables us to fix incorrect titles and assign proper titles to paintings with no hwaje. Secondly, the Hwaje Archive not only helps to improve the possibility to extrapolate hwaje from nonextant paintings, but also to offer criteria to evaluate a considerable amount of paintings, of which the country of origin, date, or subject matter is unknown. Thirdly, the Hwaje Archive proposes a painting classification system based on the unique features of East Asian paintings.BR The present-day, technology, humanities, and art are increasingly converging, while new art contents and platforms are continuously being developed. In this environment, an academically qualified Hwaje Archive is expected to be actively utilized in diverse ways in the field of art and culture now and in the future.

装潢修理技術における打刷毛叩打の動作解析

装潢修理技術における打刷毛叩打の動作解析

Laozi’s Dao and Establishment of East Asian Painting Aesthetics

Laozi’s Dao and Establishment of East Asian Painting Aesthetics

Paper lining: Techniques based on knowledge and experience

In the conservation and mounting of East Asian paintings, paper lining is a crucial and fundamental skill. Most East Asian painting substrates are relatively weak materials such as paper and silk, ...

Broken history: Redefining eighteenth-century Korean portrait painting mounts

The development of East Asian paintings cannot be separated from the issue of mounts. A mount not only strengthens a painting or calligraphic work on a fragile and flexible primary substrate such a...

Suggested Feelings on Picture Plane : Vermeer's Paintings and 12th century East Asian Paintings

Suggested Feelings on Picture Plane : Vermeer's Paintings and 12th century East Asian Paintings

A Study on Reproduction and Derivation of East Asian Paintings ― Focused on Prevalence of Huizong's Hawk Painting in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century

A Study on Reproduction and Derivation of East Asian Paintings ― Focused on Prevalence of Huizong's Hawk Painting in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century

Furunori (aged wheat starch paste): challenges of production in non‐traditional settings

Furunori (aged wheat starch paste) is a traditional adhesive used to bond layers of paper and/or silk in the mounting of Japanese scrolls. It differs from fresh wheat starch paste in texture, consistency, tack and ageing characteristics. Furunori is produced in traditional Japanese mounting studios using the same general process: paste is cooked as for fresh wheat starch paste, placed in large storage jars, covered with a layer of water and stored in a cool environment. For a number of years, conservators in the East Asian Paintings Conservation Studio (EAPCS) at the Freer Gallery of Art, USA, have been trying to make furunori with limited success. This article addresses various adaptations of the process of making furunori in a non‐traditional setting. The authors take a brief look at the starting material, wheat starch, and its manufacture in Japan as well as the chemistry of the process by which fresh wheat starch paste is transformed into furunori with long‐term storage. A thorough description of the annual process of making furunori in a traditional Japanese mounting studio is also provided. The EAPCS process of making furunori is re‐examined in an attempt to elucidate problems that lead to failed furunori. In addition, for comparison, a survey was conducted of other conservation studios located outside Japan that are making furunori.

Guidelines for the care of East Asian paintings: Display, storage and handling

Summary Traditional East Asian paintings evolved over centuries into physically and aesthetically sophisticated objects. Made with delicate materials and time-honoured methods, East Asian scrolls, screens, and albums are complex, laminate mounting structures that are easily damaged by mishandling and unstable environmental conditions. In the East, customary practices for display, storage, and connoisseurship have been essential for long-term preservation. For East Asian paintings housed in the West, concerns have arisen about appropriate measures for care and maintenance in modern museum environments. Based on experience as a traditionally trained East Asian painting conservator and informed by Western preventive conservation practices, the author presents relevant traditional methods and modem innovations for the safe display, storage and handling of scrolls, screens and albums. Broken into three sections, the article introduces guidelines and practical suggestions to determine suitable environmental par...

Sõura uchikae:Replacement of the final backing layer in hanging scrolls

Summary Displays of light-sensitive materials, such as hanging scrolls, at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington DC, are regularly changed in a six-month rotation cycle. In late 2003,12 hanging scrolls of Ukiyo-e paintings executed in the Edo period (1600–1868) were selected for display, scheduled for August 2004. The condition of each scroll was carefully examined by conservators in the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio and treatment options were discussed with the museum's curators. It was decided that three hanging scrolls would undergo replacement of the final backing layer rather than complete remounting. In this article, three of the hanging scrolls are discussed, including treatment options, condition of the scrolls and paintings, and some aspects of the treatment process will be described in comparison with a hanging scroll also executed in the Edo period which was completely remounted.

Funori: Overview of a 300-Year-Old Consolidant

Funori, a product from seaweed found mostly in Japan, has been used as an adhesive and a consolidant for centuries. Many conservators are familiar with Funori but may be unaware of its chemistry and reliable methods for its preparation. Funori has been used successfully for decades at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sadder Gallery's Department of Conservation and Scientific Research in the paper, East Asian paintings, and object conservation laboratories. This article is a review of the conservation and scientific literature to give conservators insight into the chemistry of Funori and related seaweeds and to propose methods for its preparation.