MAPEH notes

COURT ART

Court art refers to artworks created under the patronage of royalty or the ruling elite. It includes:

  • Performing arts: music, theater, dance

  • Visual arts: painting, sculpture, calligraphy, architecture, etc.

These works often display refinement, luxury, and high craftsmanship because they were meant to represent the prestige and power of the nobility.

Key Characteristics

  1. Patronage by the Nobility

    • Commissioned for kings, emperors, and elites

    • Reflects their taste, values, and ideals

  2. Symbolism & Propaganda

    • Used to reinforce authority and legitimacy

    • Displays wealth, achievements, and divine right

  3. High Craftsmanship

    • Made with the best materials and expert skill

    • Artists had access to advanced tools and resources

  4. Formal & Ceremonial Use

    • Includes objects, music, and artworks used in court rituals and ceremonies

  5. Artistic Innovations

    • Courts were cultural hubs, attracting foreign artists and new techniques

  6. Cultural Preservation

    • Even with new styles, traditions and cultural values were maintained

ASIAN COURT CALLIGRAPHY

Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing.
Highly valued in China, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East — often considered equal to painting or sculpture.

Cultural Importance

  • Originates from kallos (beauty) + graphein (to write)

  • In ancient China: emperors used it to assert power; scholar-officials gained status through mastery

  • Brushstrokes reveal the writer’s character, discipline, and emotion

  • Appreciated for its rhythm, energy, and elegance, not just literal meaning

Processes & Techniques

(General across Asia)

  • Mastery of materials (brush, ink, paper)

  • Control of pressure, angle, speed

  • Emphasis on balance, structure, and fluid motion

  • Different scripts/styles depending on the culture

REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLES OF ASIAN COURT CALLIGRAPHY

A. China

  • Called shūfǎ (“method/law of writing”)

  • Considered the highest form of visual art

  • Linked to Chinese ink painting (same tools)

  • Artists must learn:

    • Brush width control

    • Ink density

    • Paper absorbency

    • Stroke pressure & speed

  • Famous calligrapher: Wang Xizhi

  • Common styles:

    • Running script (xíngshū)

    • Grass script (cǎoshū)

B. Japan

  • Known as shodō (“the way of writing”)

  • Brought from China

  • Taught in Japanese schools

  • Requires strict discipline and stroke order

  • Formal style: kaisho (square style)

  • Everyday writing is less formal, but kaisho is used for art

C. Korea

  • Hangul = Korean alphabet

  • Hanja = Chinese characters used in Korea

  • Calligraphy began with Hanja

  • Shift to Hangul during Japanese occupation (1910–1945) as a form of nationalism

  • Korean calligraphy developed its own style, including circular strokes commonly found in Hangul characters

D. West Asia (Middle East)

  • Islamic calligraphy based on Arabic script

  • Used to write the Qur’an

  • Decorates architecture, ceramics, carvings, manuscripts

Two Main Styles

  1. Kufic

    • Earliest Qur’an script

    • Geometric, strong vertical/horizontal lines

    • 29 characters

    • Evolved into floral and plaited variants

    • Used from 8th–10th century CE

  2. Naskh

    • More curvy, fluid, and readable

    • Used for copying texts and eventually the Qur’an

    • Less formal than Kufic

Three Naskh Variations

  • Thuluth: long verticals, wide spacing

  • Riqah: short strokes, small flourishes

  • Muhaqqaq: most difficult and beautiful; for expert calligraphers only

Other regions with major calligraphy traditions: Turkey, Iran, China (Islamic communities)

ASIAN COURT PAINTINGS

Purpose & Importance

  • Created by artists commissioned by royal courts

  • Documented emperors, families, officials, and court life

  • Reflected cultural values, political power, and ceremonial practices

  • Helped develop major art traditions like:

    • Chinese ink painting

    • Indian miniature painting

Common Features

  • Intricate detail

  • Elegant styles

  • Cultural symbolism

  • Documentation of history, rituals, clothing, and politics

REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLES OF ASIAN COURT PAINTINGS & ARTISTS

A. China

1. Gu Kaizhi (c. 345–406)

  • Known as the founder of traditional Chinese painting

  • Famous for figure paintings, portraits, poetry, and calligraphy

  • Three surviving handscrolls (copies):

    • Admonitions of the Instructress to the Palace Ladies

    • Nymph of the Luo River

    • Wise and Benevolent Women

  • Wrote key painting theory books

  • Style: delicate lines, moral storytelling

"Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies"

  • Attributed to Gu Kaizhi (actual copy dates between 400–700 CE)

  • Ink and color on silk

  • Housed in the British Museum

  • Illustrates a text by Zhang Hua criticizing an empress’s behavior

  • Teaches proper conduct to palace ladies

  • Originally 9 scenes; first 2 are missing

2. Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining)

  • Italian Jesuit painter (born 1688 in Milan)

  • Trained in Renaissance techniques (perspective, shading)

  • Arrived in China in 1715

  • Served as court painter to Qianlong Emperor

  • Blended Western realism with Chinese aesthetics

"The Qianlong Emperor in Ceremonial Armour on Horseback"

  • Shows the emperor at age 29

  • Created to boost military morale

  • Uses Chinese materials but Western shading/light techniques

  • Considered one of Castiglione’s masterpieces