art history

Wu Zhen, Fisherman (ca. 1350)

Yuan dynasty China; literati painting; handscroll; ink on paper; calligraphy and colophon; Daoist harmony with nature; landscape for meditation not realism; scholar-artist expression

Huang Gongwang, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (1347–50)

Yuan dynasty China; literati handscroll; viewer travels through landscape over time; layered shifting perspective; personal retreat from politics; Daoist influence

Shen Zhou, Lofty Mount Lu (1467)

Ming dynasty China; hanging scroll; literati tradition; monumentality of nature; ink wash with slight color; poetic inscription; viewed all at once

Temple Vase, blue-and-white porcelain (1351)

Yuan dynasty China; porcelain; cobalt blue underglaze (imported cobalt from Persia); global trade; technical kiln mastery; status object

Literati painting

Scholar-amateur painting; expressive brushwork; poetry, calligraphy, landscape; personal cultivation over realism

Handscroll vs Hanging Scroll

Handscroll viewed slowly over time, horizontal journey; hanging scroll viewed at once, vertical contemplation

Colophon

Inscription/commentary added by artist or viewers; shows painting as living conversation

Porcelain (China)

High-fired ceramic, translucent, durable; major export; shows technical mastery and trade networks

Kogan water jar (ca. 1600)

Japanese tea ceremony object; wabi-sabi aesthetic; handmade, rough, imperfect beauty; art tied to ritual

Wabi-sabi

Japanese aesthetic valuing imperfection, age, simplicity, natural materials

Suzuki Harunobu, Evening Bell at the Clock (1765)

Edo Japan; ukiyo-e woodblock print; floating world of pleasure life; elegant line, flat color; mass produced for urban middle class

Katsushika Hokusai, Great Wave off Kanagawa (1830)

Edo Japan; ukiyo-e nishiki-e print; multiple color blocks; Mount Fuji; nature overpowering humans; mass production

Ukiyo-e

“Floating world” prints of everyday pleasure life; woodblock prints for common people

Nishiki-e

“Brocade prints”; multiple woodblocks for many colors and patterns

Basawan & Chatar Muni, Akbar and the Elephant Hawai (1590)

Mughal India; miniature painting; opaque watercolor; court history scene; extreme detail and action; power and control of ruler

Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaykh to Kings (1615)

Mughal miniature; symbolism over realism; hierarchy of scale; spiritual authority over political rulers; Persian stylistic influence

Miniature painting (Mughal)

Small-scale, detailed, opaque watercolor; court scenes; Persian influence; precision and symbolism

Taj Mahal (1632–47)

Mughal India; mausoleum; white marble; pietra dura inlay; perfect symmetry; charbagh garden; minarets; love monument and imperial power

Charbagh

Four-part garden plan symbolizing paradise

Pietra dura

Stone inlay technique using semi-precious stones in marble

Minaret

Tall tower at corners of mosque/mausoleum

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Piazza of Saint Peter’s (1656–67)

Baroque Italy; Counter-Reformation; welcoming arms of church; theatrical urban space

Francesco Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (1638–76)

Baroque architecture; complex curves; dramatic dome; movement and energy

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, David (1623)

Baroque sculpture; frozen mid-action; viewer included; motion and drama; Counter-Reformation engagement

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Saint Teresa in Ecstasy (1645–52)

Baroque theatricality; spiritual vision made physical; hidden light; multimedia chapel

Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Triumph of the Name of Jesus (1676–79)

Baroque ceiling illusion; figures break into viewer space; fresco and stucco; triumph of Catholic Church

Annibale Carracci, Flight into Egypt (1603–04)

Baroque classicism; balanced composition; ideal landscape; calm clarity vs drama

Caravaggio, Entombment (1603)

Baroque naturalism; tenebrism; dramatic light; emotional realism

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and Her Maidservant (1623–25)

Baroque tenebrism; strong female figures; intense drama; realism

Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas (1656)

Baroque Spain; complex space; viewer included; artist elevated; naturalism

Tenebrism

Extreme contrast of dark and light for drama

Repoussoir

Figure/object in foreground framing scene and pushing viewer inward

Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the Cross (1610)

Flemish Baroque; muscular bodies; movement; Catholic drama; rich color

Anthony van Dyck, Charles I Dismounted (1635)