1.
Wassily Kandinsky
–
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was a Russian painter and art theorist. He is credited with painting one of the first recognised purely abstract works, born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa, where he graduated at Grekov Odessa Art school. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics, successful in his profession—he was offered a professorship at the University of Dorpat—Kandinsky began painting studies at the age of 30. In 1896 Kandinsky settled in Munich, studying first at Anton Ažbes private school and he returned to Moscow in 1914, after the outbreak of World War I. Kandinsky was unsympathetic to the theories on art in Communist Moscow. There, he taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture from 1922 until the Nazis closed it in 1933. He then moved to France, where he lived for the rest of his life, becoming a French citizen in 1939 and he died at Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1944. Kandinskys creation of work followed a long period of development. He called this devotion to beauty, fervor of spirit. Kandinsky was born in Moscow, the son of Lidia Ticheeva and Vasily Silvestrovich Kandinsky, Kandinsky learned from a variety of sources while in Moscow. He studied many fields while in school, including law and economics, later in life, he would recall being fascinated and stimulated by colour as a child. His fascination with colour symbolism and psychology continued as he grew, in 1889, he was part of an ethnographic research group which travelled to the Vologda region north of Moscow. In Looks on the Past, he relates that the houses and churches were decorated with such shimmering colours that upon entering them and this experience, and his study of the regions folk art, was reflected in much of his early work. The artist is the hand plays, touching one key or another. Kandinsky was also the uncle of Russian-French philosopher Alexandre Kojève, in 1896, at the age of 30, Kandinsky gave up a promising career teaching law and economics to enroll in the Munich Academy where his teachers would eventually include Franz von Stuck. He was not immediately granted admission, and began learning art on his own and that same year, before leaving Moscow, he saw an exhibit of paintings by Monet. He was particularly taken with the style of Haystacks, this. Later, he would write about this experience, That it was a haystack the catalogue informed me and this non-recognition was painful to me
Wassily Kandinsky
–
Wassily Kandinsky, c. 1913 or earlier
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky
–
Der Blaue Reiter (1903)
Wassily Kandinsky
–
Early-period work, Munich-Schwabing with the Church of St. Ursula (1908)
2.
Robert Delaunay
–
Robert Delaunay was a French artist who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, cofounded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes. His later works were abstract, reminiscent of Paul Klee. His key influence related to use of colour and a clear love of experimentation with both depth and tone. Robert Delaunay was born in Paris, the son of George Delaunay, while he was a child, Delaunays parents divorced, and he was raised by his mothers sister Marie and her husband Charles Damour, in La Ronchère near Bourges. When he failed his exam and said he wanted to become a painter. At age 19, he left Ronsin to focus entirely on painting and contributed six works to the Salon des Indépendants in 1904. He traveled to Brittany, where he was influenced by the group of Pont-Aven, and, in 1906, he contributed works he painted in Brittany to the 22nd Salon des Indépendants, where he met Henri Rousseau. Delaunay formed a friendship at this time with Jean Metzinger. The two of them were singled out by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles in 1907 as Divisionists who used large, mosaic-like cubes to construct small, Robert Herbert writes, Metzingers Neo-Impressionist period was somewhat longer than that of his close friend Delaunay. The height of his Neo-Impressionist work was in 1906 and 1907, piet Mondrian developed a similar mosaic-like Divisionist technique circa 1909. The Futurists later would incorporate the style, under the influence of Gino Severinis Parisian works, into their dynamic paintings, Delaunay is most closely identified with Orphism. From 1912 to 1914, he painted nonfigurative paintings based on the characteristics of brilliant colors that were so dynamic they would function as the form. Apollinaire was strongly influenced by Delaunay’s theories of color and often quoted from them to explain Orphism, Delaunay’s fixations with color as the expressive and structural means were sustained with his study of color. He believes painting is a visual art that depends on intellectual elements. The contrasts and harmonies of color produce in the eye simultaneous movements, vision becomes the subject of painting. His early paintings are deeply rooted in Neoimpressionism, night Scene for example has vigorous activity with the use of lively brushstrokes in bright colors against a dark background. It doesn’t define solid object but the areas that surround them, spectral colors of Neoimpressionism were later abandoned, the Eiffel Tower series, were fragmentation of solid objects and their merging with space was learned. Influences in this series were Cézanne, Analytical Cubism, and Futurism, in the Eiffel Tower the interpenetration of tangible objects and surrounding space is accompanies by intense movement of geometric plans that are more dynamic than static equilibrium of Cubist forms
Robert Delaunay
–
Simultaneous Windows on the City, 1912,
Hamburger Kunsthalle
Robert Delaunay
–
Robert Delaunay, Portrait de Jean Metzinger, 1906, oil on canvas, 55 x 43 cm
Robert Delaunay
–
Robert Delaunay, Paysage au disque, 1906–07, oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm, Musée national d'art moderne (MNAM), Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Robert Delaunay
–
Champs de Mars, La Tour rouge, 1911,
Art Institute of Chicago.
3.
Visual language
–
The visual language is a system of communication using visual elements. An image which dramatizes and communicates an idea presupposes the use of a visual language, just as people can verbalize their thinking, they can visualize it. A diagram, a map, and a painting are all examples of uses of visual language and its structural units include line, shape, colour, form, motion, texture, pattern, direction, orientation, scale, angle, space and proportion. The elements in an image represent concepts in a spatial context, speech and visual communication are parallel and often interdependent means by which humans exchange information. Visual units in the form of lines and marks are constructed into meaningful shapes and structures or signs, different areas of the cortex respond to different elements such as colour and form. Semir Zeki has shown the responses in the brain to the paintings of Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Magritte, Malevich, what we have in our minds in a waking state and what we imagine in dreams is very much of the same nature. Dream images might be with or without words, other sounds or colours. In the waking state there is usually, in the foreground, rudolf Arnheim has attempted to answer the question, what does a mental image look like. In Greek philosophy, the School of Leucippus and Democritus believed that a replica of an object enters the eye, berkeley explained that parts, for example, a leg rather than the complete body, can be brought visually to the mind. Arnheim considers the psychologist, Edward B, titcheners account to be the breakthrough in understanding something of how the vague incomplete quality of the image is impressionistic and carries meaning as well as form. Abstract art has shown that the qualities of line and shape, proportion, wassily Kandinsky showed how drawn lines and marks can be expressive without any association with a representational image. … Its a story-telling rock, a message from a world before words, the sense of sight operates selectively. The perception of a shape requires the grasping of the structural features. The theory of the gestalt was proposed by Christian von Ehrenfels in 1890 and he pointed out that a melody is still recognisable when played in different keys and argued that the whole is not simply the sum of its parts but a total structure. An array of random dots tends to form configurations, all these innate abilities demonstrate how the eye and the mind are seeking pattern and simple whole shapes. When we look at more complex visual images such as paintings we can see that art has been an attempt to notate visual information. Thought processes are diffused and interconnected and are cognitive at a sensory level, the mind thinks at its deepest level in sense material, and the two hemispheres of the brain deal with different kinds of thought. The brain is divided into two hemispheres and a bundle of nerve fibres enable these two halves to communicate with each other
Visual language
–
Water, rabbit, deer pictographs on a replica of an
Aztec Stone of the Sun.
4.
Western art
–
The art of Europe encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile rock, and cave painting art, written histories of European art often begin with the art of the Ancient Middle East, and the Ancient Aegean civilisations, dating from the 3rd millennium BC. Parallel with these significant cultures, art of one form or another existed all over Europe, wherever there were people, leaving signs such as carvings, decorated artifacts and huge standing stones. Before the 1800s, the Christian church was an influence upon European art. The history of the Church was very much reflected in the history of art, in the same period of time there was renewed interest in heroes and heroines, tales of mythological gods and goddesses, great wars, and bizarre creatures which were not connected to religion. Secularism has influenced European art since the Classical period, while most art of the last 200 years has produced without reference to religion. On the other hand, European art has often influenced by politics of one kind or another, of the state, of the patron. European art is arranged into a number of periods, which, historically. Broadly the periods are, Classical, Byzantine, Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, European prehistoric art is an important part of the European cultural heritage. Prehistoric art history is divided into four main periods, Stone age, Neolithic, Bronze age. Most of the artifacts of this period are small sculptures. The oldest European cave art dates back 40,800, rock painting was also performed on cliff faces, but fewer of those have survived because of erosion. One well-known example is the paintings of Astuvansalmi in the Saimaa area of Finland. When Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola first encountered the Magdalenian paintings of the Altamira cave, Cantabria, Spain in 1879, recent reappraisals and numerous additional discoveries have since demonstrated their authenticity, while at the same time stimulating interest in the artistry of Upper Palaeolithic peoples. Cave paintings, undertaken with only the most rudimentary tools, can also furnish valuable insight into the culture, the figures are generally rather sketchily depicted in thin paint, with the relationships between the groups of humans and animals more carefully depicted than individual figures. Other less numerous groups of art, many engraved rather than painted. The Iberian examples are believed to date from a period perhaps covering the Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic. There are human heads and some fully represented animals, but full-length human figures at any size are so rare that their absence may represent a religious taboo, the Minoan culture is regarded as the oldest civilization in Europe
Western art
–
Pierre Mignard,
Clio,
muse of
heroic poetry and
history, 17th century
Western art
–
History of art
Western art
–
Venus of Willendorf.
Western art
–
Minoan Ceramic Art
5.
Renaissance
–
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe. This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science, Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, the Renaissance began in Florence, in the 14th century. Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, the word Renaissance, literally meaning Rebirth in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word also occurs in Jules Michelets 1855 work, Histoire de France, the word Renaissance has also been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century. The Renaissance was a movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism, however, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were back from Byzantium to Western Europe. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe life as it really was. Others see more competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, accordingly, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. During the Renaissance, money and art went hand in hand, Artists depended entirely on patrons while the patrons needed money to foster artistic talent. Wealth was brought to Italy in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries by expanding trade into Asia, silver mining in Tyrol increased the flow of money. Luxuries from the Eastern world, brought home during the Crusades, increased the prosperity of Genoa, unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity, Arab logicians had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Spain and Sicily and this work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history
Renaissance
–
David, by
Michelangelo (
Accademia di Belle Arti,
Florence) is a masterpiece of Renaissance and world art.
Renaissance
–
Renaissance
Renaissance
–
Leonardo da Vinci 's
Vitruvian Man (c. 1490) shows clearly the effect writers of Antiquity had on Renaissance thinkers. Based on the specifications in
Vitruvius '
De architectura (1st century BC), Leonardo tried to draw the perfectly proportioned man.
Renaissance
–
Portrait of a young woman (c. 1480-85) (
Simonetta Vespucci) by
Sandro Botticelli
6.
Perspective (visual)
–
Perspective in the graphic arts is an approximate representation, on a flat surface, of an image as it is seen by the eye. If viewed from the spot as the windowpane was painted. Each painted object in the scene is thus a flat, scaled down version of the object on the side of the window. All perspective drawings assume the viewer is a distance away from the drawing. Objects are scaled relative to that viewer, an object is often not scaled evenly, a circle often appears as an ellipse and a square can appear as a trapezoid. This distortion is referred to as foreshortening, Perspective drawings have a horizon line, which is often implied. This line, directly opposite the viewers eye, represents objects infinitely far away and they have shrunk, in the distance, to the infinitesimal thickness of a line. It is analogous to the Earths horizon, any perspective representation of a scene that includes parallel lines has one or more vanishing points in a perspective drawing. A one-point perspective drawing means that the drawing has a vanishing point, usually directly opposite the viewers eye. All lines parallel with the line of sight recede to the horizon towards this vanishing point. This is the standard receding railroad tracks phenomenon, a two-point drawing would have lines parallel to two different angles. Any number of vanishing points are possible in a drawing, one for each set of lines that are at an angle relative to the plane of the drawing. Perspectives consisting of parallel lines are observed most often when drawing architecture. In contrast, natural scenes often do not have any sets of parallel lines, the only method to indicate the relative position of elements in the composition was by overlapping, of which much use is made in works like the Parthenon Marbles. Chinese artists made use of perspective from the first or second century until the 18th century. It is not certain how they came to use the technique, some authorities suggest that the Chinese acquired the technique from India, oblique projection is also seen in Japanese art, such as in the Ukiyo-e paintings of Torii Kiyonaga. This was detailed within Aristotles Poetics as skenographia, using flat panels on a stage to give the illusion of depth, the philosophers Anaxagoras and Democritus worked out geometric theories of perspective for use with skenographia. Alcibiades had paintings in his house designed using skenographia, so this art was not confined merely to the stage, Euclids Optics introduced a mathematical theory of perspective, but there is some debate over the extent to which Euclids perspective coincides with the modern mathematical definition
Perspective (visual)
–
A sharpened
pencil in extreme perspective. Note the shallow
depth of field.
Perspective (visual)
–
Railway tracks appear to meet at a distant point.
Perspective (visual)
–
A flat road approaching the horizon shows a similar effect when observed obliquely.
Perspective (visual)
–
The Doshan Tappeh Street by
Kamal-ol-molk
7.
19th century
–
The 19th century was the century marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Napoleonic, Holy Roman and Mughal empires. After the defeat of the French Empire and its allies in the Napoleonic Wars, the Russian Empire expanded in central and far eastern Asia. By the end of the century, the British Empire controlled a fifth of the worlds land, the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and spread to continental Europe, North America and Japan. The Victorian era was notorious for the employment of children in factories and mines, as well as strict social norms regarding modesty. Japan embarked on a program of rapid modernization following the Meiji Restoration, before defeating China, under the Qing Dynasty, europes population doubled during the 19th century, from approximately 200 million to more than 400 million. Numerous cities worldwide surpassed populations of a million or more during this century, London became the worlds largest city and capital of the British Empire. Its population increased from 1 million in 1800 to 6.7 million a century later, liberalism became the pre-eminent reform movement in Europe. Slavery was greatly reduced around the world, following a successful slave revolt in Haiti, Britain and France stepped up the battle against the Barbary pirates and succeeded in stopping their enslavement of Europeans. The UKs Slavery Abolition Act charged the British Royal Navy with ending the slave trade. The first colonial empire in the century to abolish slavery was the British, americas 13th Amendment following their Civil War abolished slavery there in 1865, and in Brazil slavery was abolished in 1888. Similarly, serfdom was abolished in Russia, in the 19th century approximately 70 million people left Europe, with most migrating to the United States of America. The 19th century also saw the creation, development and codification of many sports, particularly in Britain. Also, ladywear was a sensitive topic during this time. 1801, Ranjit Singh crowned as King of Punjab,1801, Napoleon signs the Concordat of 1801 with the Pope. 1801, Cairo falls to the British,1801, Assassination of Tsar Paul I of Russia. 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven performs his Moonlight Sonata for the first time,1803, William Symington demonstrates his Charlotte Dundas, the first practical steamboat. 1803, The United States more than doubles in size when it buys out Frances territorial claims in North America via the Louisiana Purchase. This begins the U. S. s westward expansion to the Pacific referred to as its Manifest Destiny which involves annexing and conquering land from Mexico, Britain,1803, The Wahhabis of the First Saudi State capture Mecca and Medina
19th century
–
Antoine-Jean Gros, Surrender of Madrid, 1808. Napoleon enters Spain's capital during the
Peninsular War, 1810
19th century
–
Arab slave traders and their captives along the Ruvuma river (in today's Tanzania and Mozambique), 19th century
19th century
–
The
Industrial Revolution forever modified the economy worldwide.
19th century
–
Map of the world from 1897. The
British Empire (marked in pink) was the superpower of the 19th century.
8.
Image
–
Images may be two-dimensional, such as a photograph or screen display, or three-dimensional, such as a statue or hologram. They may be captured by optical devices – such as cameras, mirrors, lenses, telescopes, microscopes, etc. and natural objects and phenomena, such as the human eye or water. The word image is used in the broader sense of any two-dimensional figure such as a map, a graph. A volatile image is one that only for a short period of time. This may be a reflection of an object by a mirror, a fixed image, also called a hard copy, is one that has been recorded on a material object, such as paper or textile by photography or any other digital process. A mental image exists in a mind, as something one remembers or imagines. The subject of an image need not be real, it may be a concept, such as a graph, function. For example, Sigmund Freud claimed to have dreamed purely in aural-images of dialogs, a still image is a single static image, as distinguished from a kinetic image. This phrase is used in photography, visual media and the industry to emphasize that one is not talking about movies. A film still is a taken on the set of a movie or television program during production. In literature, imagery is a picture which appeals to the senses. It can both be figurative and literal, a moving image is typically a movie or video, including digital video. It could also be an animated display such as a zoetrope, library of Congress – Format Descriptions for Still Images Image Processing – Online Open Research Group Legal Issues Regarding Images Image Copyright Case
Image
–
A man creating an image of himself, in the form of a painting
Image
–
An
SAR radar image acquired by the SIR-C/X-SAR radar on board the
Space Shuttle Endeavour shows the
Teide volcano. The city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is visible as the purple and white area on the lower right edge of the island. Lava flows at the summit crater appear in shades of green and brown, while vegetation zones appear as areas of purple, green and yellow on the volcano's flanks.
9.
Geometric abstraction
–
Geometric abstraction is a form of abstract art based on the use of geometric forms sometimes, though not always, placed in non-illusionistic space and combined into non-objective compositions. Although the genre was popularized by artists in the early twentieth century. Geometric abstraction is present among many cultures throughout history both as decorative motifs and as art pieces themselves, wassily Kandinsky, one of the forerunners of pure non-objective painting, was among the first modern artists to explore this geometric approach in his abstract work. Other examples of pioneer abstractionists such as Kasimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian have also embraced this approach towards abstract painting,10, 1939–1942, characterized by primary colors, white ground and black grid lines clearly defined his radical but classical approach to the rectangle. Just as there are both two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometries, the sculpture of the 20th century was of course no less affected than painting by geometricizing tendencies
Geometric abstraction
–
Kazimir Malevich, Black Square, 1915, Oil on Canvas,
State Russian Museum, St.Petersburg
Geometric abstraction
–
Theo van Doesburg,
Neo-Plasticism: 1917, Composition VII (the three graces)
Geometric abstraction
–
Mino Argento, New York, 1973
10.
Figurative art
–
However, abstract is sometimes used as a synonym for non-representational art and non-objective art, i. e. art which has no derivation from figures or objects. Figurative art is not synonymous with figure painting, although human, the difference is that in figurative art these elements are deployed to create an impression or illusion of form and space, and, usually, to create emphasis in the narrative portrayed. Figurative art is based upon a tacit understanding of abstracted shapes. Eventually idealization gave way to observation, and an art which balanced ideal geometry with greater realism was seen in Classical sculpture by 480 B. C. The Greeks referred to the reliance on visual observation as mimesis, until the time of the Impressionists, figurative art was characterized by attempts to reconcile these opposing principles. From the early Renaissance, Mannerism and the Baroque through 18th-, 19th- and he was a major inspiration for such classically oriented artists as Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Paul Cézanne. Abstract art Illustration Narrative art Neofigurative Art Realism Stuckism
Figurative art
–
Ein Meerhafen ("A Seaport"), a figurative landscape by the Austrian artist
Johann Anton Eismann (1604–1698), which depicts buildings, people, ships, and other features that can be distinguished individually; by contrast, the abstract landscape below suggests its subject matter without directly representing figures
Figurative art
–
Untitled
abstract expressionist landscape by the American artist
Jay Meuser (1911–1963)
Figurative art
–
Nude study (1896) by
Kenyon Cox, an advocate of figurative art
Figurative art
–
Jacques-Louis David.
Oath of the Horatii, 1786
11.
Representation (arts)
–
Representation is the use of signs that stand in for and take the place of something else. It is through representation that people organize the world and reality through the act of naming its elements, Signs are arranged in order to form semantic constructions and express relations. Representation has been associated with aesthetics and semiotics, mitchell says representation is an extremely elastic notion, which extends all the way from a stone representing a man to a novel representing the day in the life of several Dubliners. The term representation carries a range of meanings and interpretations, in literary theory, representation is commonly defined in three ways. A representation is a type of recording in which the information about a physical object is described in a medium. The degree to which an artistic representation resembles the object it represents is a function of resolution, since ancient times representation has played a central role in understanding literature, aesthetics and semiotics. Plato and Aristotle are key figures in literary theory who considered literature as simply one form of representation. Aristotle for instance, considered each mode of representation, verbal, visual or musical, therefore, what distinguishes humans from other animals is their ability to create and manipulate signs. Aristotle deemed mimesis as natural to man, therefore considered representations as necessary for learning and being in the world. Plato, in contrast, looked upon representation with more caution and he recognised that literature is a representation of life, yet also believed that representations create worlds of illusion leading one away from the real things. For Plato, representation, like contemporary media, intervenes between the viewer and the real, creating illusions that lead one away from real things, Aristotle went on to say it was a definitively human activity. From childhood man has an instinct for representation, and in this respect man differs from the animals that he is far more imitative. Aristotle discusses representation in three ways— The object, The symbol being represented, manner, The way the symbol is represented. Means, The material that is used to represent it, the means of literary representation is language. An important part of representation is the relationship between what the material and what it represents, the questions arising from this are, A stone may represent a man but how. And by what and by agreement, does this understanding of the representation occur. One apprehends reality only through representations of reality, through texts, discourses, images, consequently, throughout the history of human culture, people have become dissatisfied with languages ability to express reality and as a result have developed new modes of representation. It is necessary to construct new ways of seeing reality, as people only know reality through representation, from this arises the contrasting and alternate theories and representational modes of abstraction, realism and modernism, to name a few
Representation (arts)
–
Bust of
Aristotle, Greek philosopher
Representation (arts)
–
Reproduction of the
Mona Lisa
Representation (arts)
–
Greek theatrical masks depicted in
Hadrians Villa mosaic
Representation (arts)
–
Charles Sanders Peirce
12.
Realism (visual arts)
–
Realism in the arts is the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic and supernatural elements. Realism has been prevalent in the arts at many periods, and is in part a matter of technique and training. In the visual arts, illusionistic realism is the depiction of lifeforms, perspective. Realist works of art may emphasize the mundane, ugly or sordid, such as works of realism, regionalism. There have been various movements in the arts, such as the opera style of verismo, literary realism, theatrical realism. The realism art movement in painting began in France in the 1850s, the realist painters rejected Romanticism, which had come to dominate French literature and art, with roots in the late 18th century. Realism is the precise, detailed and accurate representation in art of the appearance of scenes. Realism in this sense is also called naturalism, mimesis or illusionism, realistic art was created in many periods, and it is in large part a matter of technique and training, and the avoidance of stylization. It becomes especially marked in European painting in the Early Netherlandish painting of Jan van Eyck, however such realism is often used to depict, for example, angels with wings, which were not things the artists had ever seen in real life. It is the choice and treatment of matter that defines Realism as a movement in painting. The development of increasingly accurate representation of the appearances of things has a long history in art. It includes elements such as the depiction of the anatomy of humans and animals, of perspective and effects of distance. Ancient Greek art is recognised as having made great progress in the representation of anatomy. Pliny the Elders famous story of birds pecking at grapes painted by Zeuxis in the 5th century BC may well be a legend, roman portraiture, when not under too much Greek influence, shows a greater commitment to a truthful depiction of its subjects. The art of Late Antiquity famously rejected illusionism for expressive force, scientific methods of representing perspective were developed in Italy and gradually spread across Europe, and accuracy in anatomy rediscovered under the influence of classical art. As in classical times, idealism remained the norm, intriguingly, having led the development of illusionic painting, still life was to be equally significant in its abandonment in Cubism. The depiction of ordinary, everyday subjects in art also has a history, though it was often squeezed into the edges of compositions. However these objects are at least largely there because they carry layers of complex significance, pieter Bruegel the Elder pioneered large panoramic scenes of peasant life
Realism (visual arts)
–
Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet, 1854. A Realist painting by
Gustave Courbet.
Realism (visual arts)
–
Realist or illusionistic detail of the
convex mirror in the
Arnolfini Portrait by
Jan van Eyck, 1434
Realism (visual arts)
–
Lord Leighton 's
Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna of 1853-55 is at the end of a long tradition of illusionism in painting, but is not Realist in the sense of Courbet's work of the same period.
Realism (visual arts)
–
Woodcutting, miniature from a set of
Labours of the Months by
Simon Bening, c. 1550
13.
Lyrical abstraction
–
It is a descriptive term characterizing a type of abstract painting related to Abstract Expressionism, in use since the 1940s. Many well known abstract expressionist painters like Arshile Gorky seen in context have been characterized as doing a type of painting described as lyrical abstraction, whose works related to characteristics of contemporary American abstract expressionism. The art movement Abstraction lyrique was born in Paris after the war, at that time, the artistic life in Paris, which had been devastated by the Occupation and Collaboration, resumed with numerous artists exhibited again as soon as the Liberation of Paris in mid-1944. According to the new forms that characterised some artists, the movement was named by the art critic, Jean José Marchand. Some art critics also looked at this movement as an attempt to restore the image of artistic Paris, Lyrical abstraction was opposed not only to the Cubist and Surrealist movements that preceded it, but also to geometric abstraction. Lyrical abstraction was, in ways, the first to apply the lessons of Kandinsky. For the artists, lyrical abstraction represented an opening to personal expression. S. A, Lyrical Abstraction was opposed not only to l’Ecole de Paris remains of pre-war style but to Cubist and Surrealist movements that had preceded it, and also to geometric abstraction. Lyrical Abstraction was in ways the first to apply the lessons of Kandinsky. For the artists in France, Lyrical Abstraction represented an opening to personal expression, in Belgium, Louis Van Lint figured a remarkable example of an artist who, after a short period of geometric abstraction, has moved to a lyrical abstraction in which he excelled. At the Drouin gallery one could see Jean Le Moal, Gustave Singier, Alfred Manessier, Roger Bissière, Wols and others. In March 1951 was held the larger exhibition Véhémences confrontées in the gallery Nina Dausset where for the first time were presented side to side French and it was organised by the critic Michel Tapié, whose role in the defense of this movement was of the highest importance. With these events, he déclared that « the lyrical abstraction is born » and it was, however, a fairly short reign, which was quickly supplanted by the New realism of Pierre Restany and Yves Klein. Starting around 1970, this movement has been revived by a new generation of artists born during or immediately after the Second World War, some of its key promoters include Paul Kallos, Georges Romathier, Michelle Desterac, and Thibaut de Reimpré. American Lyrical Abstraction is an art movement that emerged in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, characterized by intuitive and loose paint handling, spontaneous expression, illusionist space, acrylic staining, process, occasional imagery, and other painterly and newer technological techniques. Lyrical Abstraction led the way away from minimalism in painting and toward a new freer expressionism, many of them had been Minimalists, working with various monochromatic, geometric styles, and whose paintings publicly evolved into new abstract painterly motifs. American Lyrical Abstraction is related in spirit to Abstract Expressionism, Color Field painting, Tachisme refers to the French style of abstract painting current in the 1945–1960 period. Very close to Art Informel, it presents the European equivalent to Abstract Expressionism, the Sheldon Museum of Art held an exhibition from 1 June until 29 August 1993 entitled Lyrical Abstraction, Color and Mood. Many artists began moving away from geometric, hard-edge, and minimal styles, toward more lyrical, sensuous and these lyrical abstractionists sought to expand the boundaries of abstract painting, and to revive and reinvigorate a painterly tradition in American art
Lyrical abstraction
–
John Hoyland, Lebanon, 2007. John Hoyland (1934-2011), was one of England's leading
abstract painters.
Lyrical abstraction
–
Ronnie Landfield, For
William Blake 1968, a/c, 110 x 256 inches, exhibited: Tower 49, NYC, January 3, 2002–November 15, 2002. His work was included in the Lyrical Abstraction exhibitions at the Whitney Museum in 1970, the Sheldon Museum in 1993 and at the Boca Raton Museum in 2009.
Lyrical abstraction
–
John Seery, East, 1973,
National Gallery of Australia. Seery's work was included in the Lyrical Abstraction exhibitions at the Whitney Museum in 1970 and at the Boca Raton Museum in 2009.
Lyrical abstraction
–
Thornton Willis "Red Wall" 1969, Acrylic on Canvas, 103x108 inches.
14.
Art movements
–
Art movements were especially important in modern art, when each consecutive movement was considered as a new avant-garde. According to theories associated with modernism and the concept of postmodernism, the period of time called modern art is posited to have changed approximately halfway through the 20th century and art made afterward is generally called contemporary art. Postmodernism in visual art begins and functions as a parallel to late modernism, the postmodern period began during late modernism, and according to some theorists postmodernism ended in the 21st century. During the period of time corresponding to modern art each movement was often considered a new avant-garde. Also during the period of time referred to as modern art movement was seen corresponding to a somewhat grandiose rethinking of all that came before it. Generally there was a commonality of visual style linking the works, postmodernist theorists posit that the idea of art movements are no longer as applicable, or no longer as discernible, as the notion of art movements had been before the postmodern era. There are many theorists however who doubt as to whether or not such an era was actually a fact, the term refers to tendencies in visual art, novel ideas and architecture, and sometimes literature. In music it is common to speak about genres and styles instead. See also cultural movement, a term with a broader connotation, as the names of many art movements use the -ism suffix, they are sometimes referred to as isms. 20th-century Western painting Art periods List of art movements Post-expressionism Western art history the-artists. org Art movements since 1900, 20th-Century Art Compiled by Dr. Witcombe, Sweet Briar College, Virginia. WebMuseum, Paris Themes index and detailed glossary of art periods
Art movements
–
History of art
Art movements
–
Jacques-Louis David,
The Coronation of Napoleon, (1806),
Musée du Louvre,
History painting
Art movements
–
Eugène Delacroix,
Liberty Leading the People 1830,
Romanticism
Art movements
–
Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire: The Savage State 1836,
Hudson River School
15.
Fauvism
–
While Fauvism as a style began around 1900 and continued beyond 1910, the movement as such lasted only a few years, 1904–1908, and had three exhibitions. The leaders of the movement were Henri Matisse and André Derain, the paintings of the Fauves were characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors, while their subject matter had a high degree of simplification and abstraction. Fauvism can be classified as a development of Van Goghs Post-Impressionism fused with the pointillism of Seurat and other Neo-Impressionist painters. Other key influences were Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin, whose employment of areas of saturated color—notably in paintings from Tahiti—strongly influenced Derains work at Collioure in 1905, in 1888 Gauguin had said to Paul Sérusier, How do you see these trees. So, put in yellow, this shadow, rather blue, paint it with pure ultramarine, Fauvism can also be seen as a mode of Expressionism. Moreaus broad-mindedness, originality and affirmation of the potency of pure color was inspirational for his students. Matisse said of him, He did not set us on the right roads and this source of empathy was taken away with Moreaus death in 1898, but the artists discovered other catalysts for their development. In 1896, Matisse, then an art student, visited the artist John Peter Russell on the island of Belle Île off the coast of Brittany. The next year he returned as Russells student and abandoned his earth-colored palette for bright Impressionist colors, later stating, Russell was my teacher, Russell had been a close friend of Vincent van Gogh and gave Matisse a Van Gogh drawing. In parallel with the discovery of contemporary avant-garde art came an appreciation of pre-Renaissance French art. Another aesthetic influence was African sculpture, of which Vlaminck, Derain, many of the Fauve characteristics first cohered in Matisses painting, Luxe, Calme et Volupté, which he painted in the summer of 1904, whilst in Saint-Tropez with Paul Signac and Henri-Edmond Cross. The artists shared their first exhibition at the 1905 Salon dAutomne, Henri Rousseau was not a Fauve, but his large jungle scene The Hungry Lion Throws Itself on the Antelope was exhibited near Matisses work and may have had an influence on the pejorative used. Vauxcelles comment was printed on 17 October 1905 in Gil Blas, a daily newspaper, the pictures gained considerable condemnation—A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public, wrote the critic Camille Mauclair —but also some favorable attention. Matisses Neo-Impressionist landscape, Luxe, Calme et Volupté, had already exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in the spring of 1905. Art history History of painting Neo-Fauvism Visual arts Western painting Gerdts, the Color of Modernism, The American Fauves. Spivey, Virginia, Fauvism, Smarthistory at Khan Academy Whitfield, Fauve Painting from the Permanent Collection at the National Gallery of Art Fauvism, The Wild Beasts of Early Twentieth Century Art Rewald, Sabine. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Gelett Burgess, The Wild Men of Paris, Matisse, Picasso and Les Fauves,1910
Fauvism
–
Henri Matisse, Portrait of Madame Matisse (The
Green Stripe), 1906,
Statens Museum for Kunst,
Copenhagen, Denmark
Fauvism
–
Press clipping, Les Fauves: Exhibition at the
Salon d'Automne, in L'Illustration, 4 November 1905
Fauvism
–
Henri Matisse.
Woman with a Hat, 1905.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Fauvism
–
Henri Matisse,
Luxe, Calme et Volupté, 1904, oil on canvas, 98 x 118.5 cm,
Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
16.
Cubism
–
Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. Cubism has been considered the most influential art movement of the 20th century, the term is broadly used in association with a wide variety of art produced in Paris during the 1910s and extending through the 1920s. The movement was pioneered by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, joined by Andre Lhote, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Robert Delaunay, Henri Le Fauconnier, Fernand Léger and Juan Gris. A primary influence that led to Cubism was the representation of form in the late works of Paul Cézanne. The impact of Cubism was far-reaching and wide-ranging, Cubism spread rapidly across the globe and in doing so evolved to a greater or lesser extent. In essence, Cubism was the origin of a process that produced diversity. In France, offshoots of Cubism developed, including Orphism, Abstract art, in other countries Futurism, Suprematism, Dada, Constructivism, De Stijl and Art Deco developed in response to Cubism. Other common threads between these movements include the faceting or simplification of geometric forms, and the association of mechanization. Cubism began between 1907 and 1911, Pablo Picassos 1907 painting Les Demoiselles dAvignon has often been considered a proto-Cubist work. Georges Braques 1908 Houses at L’Estaque prompted the critic Louis Vauxcelles to refer to bizarreries cubiques, Gertrude Stein referred to landscapes made by Picasso in 1909, such as Reservoir at Horta de Ebro, as the first Cubist paintings. A second phase, Synthetic Cubism, remained vital until around 1919, english art historian Douglas Cooper proposed another scheme, describing three phases of Cubism in his book, The Cubist Epoch. Douglas Coopers restrictive use of terms to distinguish the work of Braque, Picasso, Gris. Alternative interpretations of Cubism have therefore developed, wider views of Cubism include artists who were later associated with the Salle 41 artists, e. g. John Berger identifies the essence of Cubism with the mechanical diagram. The metaphorical model of Cubism is the diagram, The diagram being a symbolic representation of invisible processes, forces, structures. A diagram need not eschew certain aspects of appearance but these too will be treated as not as imitations or recreations. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Europeans were discovering African, Polynesian, Micronesian, artists such as Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso were intrigued and inspired by the stark power and simplicity of styles of those foreign cultures. Around 1906, Picasso met Matisse through Gertrude Stein, at a time when artists had recently acquired an interest in primitivism, Iberian sculpture, African art and African tribal masks. Picassos paintings of 1907 have been characterized as Protocubism, as seen in Les Demoiselles dAvignon
Cubism
–
Pablo Picasso, 1910, Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier), oil on canvas, 100.3 x 73.6 cm,
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Cubism
–
Pablo Picasso,
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907, considered to be a major step towards the founding of the Cubist movement
Cubism
–
Pablo Picasso, 1909-10, Figure dans un Fauteuil (Seated Nude, Femme nue assise), oil on canvas, 92.1 x 73 cm,
Tate Modern, London
Cubism
–
Paul Cézanne, Quarry Bibémus, 1898-1900,
Museum Folkwang,
Essen,
Germany
17.
History of painting
–
The history of painting reaches back in time to artifacts from pre-historic humans, and spans all cultures. It represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from Antiquity. Across cultures, and spanning continents and millennia, the history of painting is a river of creativity. Until the early 20th century it relied primarily on representational, religious and classical motifs, after which time more purely abstract, developments in Eastern painting historically parallel those in Western painting, in general, a few centuries earlier. African art, Jewish art, Islamic art, Indian art, Chinese art, and Japanese art each had significant influence on Western art, and vice versa. Initially serving utilitarian purpose, followed by imperial, private, civic, and religious patronage, Eastern and Western painting later found audiences in the aristocracy, from the Modern era, the Middle Ages through the Renaissance painters worked for the church and a wealthy aristocracy. Beginning with the Baroque era artists received commissions from a more educated. Finally in the West the idea of art for arts sake began to find expression in the work of the Romantic painters like Francisco de Goya, John Constable, the 19th century saw the rise of the commercial art gallery, which provided patronage in the 20th century. The oldest known paintings are approximately 40,000 years old, josé Luis Sanchidrián at the University of Cordoba, Spain, believes the paintings are more likely to have been painted by Neanderthals than early modern humans. Images at the Chauvet cave in France are thought to be about 32,000 years old and they are engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and show horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, mammoth or humans often hunting. There are examples of cave paintings all over the world—in France, India, Spain, Portugal, China, various conjectures have been made as to the meaning these paintings had to the people that made them. Prehistoric men may have painted animals to catch their soul or spirit in order to hunt them more easily or the paintings may represent an animistic vision and homage to surrounding nature. They may be the result of a basic need of expression that is innate to human beings, in Paleolithic times, the representation of humans in cave paintings was rare. Mostly, animals were painted, not only animals that were used as food but also animals that represented strength like the rhinoceros or large Felidae, signs like dots were sometimes drawn. Rare human representations include handprints and stencils, and figures depicting human / animal hybrids, the Chauvet Cave in the Ardèche Departments of France contains the most important preserved cave paintings of the Paleolithic era, painted around 31,000 BC. The Altamira cave paintings in Spain were done 14,000 to 12,000 BC and show, among others, bisons. The hall of bulls in Lascaux, Dordogne, France, is one of the best known cave paintings, if there is meaning to the paintings, it remains unknown. The caves were not in an area, so they may have been used for seasonal rituals
History of painting
–
Cave painting of
aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius),
Lascaux, France,
prehistoric art
History of painting
–
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka,
rock painting,
Stone Age, India
History of painting
–
Eland,
rock painting,
Drakensberg, South Africa
18.
Western painting
–
The history of Western painting represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from antiquity until the present time. Until the mid-19th century it was concerned with representational and Classical modes of production, after which time more modern, abstract. Developments in Western painting historically parallel those in Eastern painting, in general a few centuries later, african art, Islamic art, Indian art, Chinese art, and Japanese art each had a significant influence on Western art, and, eventually, vice versa. Initially serving imperial, private, civic, and religious patronage, Western painting later found audiences in the aristocracy, from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance painters worked for the church and a wealthy aristocracy. Beginning with the Baroque era artists received commissions from a more educated. The idea of art for arts sake began to find expression in the work of the Romantic painters like Francisco de Goya, John Constable, during the 19th century commercial galleries became established and continued to provide patronage in the 20th century. Following the depth of discovery and the complexity of innovations of the Renaissance, the history of painting continues into the 21st century. The history of painting reaches back in time to artifacts from pre-historic humans, the oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, claimed by some historians to be about 32,000 years old. They are engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and show horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, mammoth, there are examples of cave paintings all over the world—in France, India, Spain, Portugal, China, Australia etc. Various conjectures have been made as to the meaning these paintings had to the people who made them, Egyptian wall painting and decorative painting is often graphic, sometimes more symbolic than realistic. Egyptian painting depicts figures in bold outline and flat silhouette, in symmetry is a constant characteristic. Egyptian painting has close connection with its written language—called Egyptian hieroglyphs, painted symbols are found amongst the first forms of written language. The Egyptians also painted on linen, remnants of which survive today, Ancient Egyptian paintings survived due to the extremely dry climate. The ancient Egyptians created paintings to make the afterlife of the deceased a pleasant place, the themes included journey through the afterworld or their protective deities introducing the deceased to the gods of the underworld. Some examples of paintings are paintings of the gods and goddesses Ra, Horus, Anubis, Nut. Some tomb paintings show activities that the deceased were involved in when they were alive, in the New Kingdom and later, the Book of the Dead was buried with the entombed person. It was considered important for an introduction to the afterlife, to the north of Egypt was the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. The wall paintings found in the palace of Knossos are similar to those of the Egyptians, around 1100 BC, tribes from the north of Greece conquered Greece and its art took a new direction
Western painting
–
Johannes Vermeer 's
Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665-67), known as the Mona Lisa of the North.
Western painting
–
History of art
Western painting
–
Édouard Manet 's The Balcony (1868)
Western painting
–
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka,
rock painting,
Stone Age, India
19.
Prehistoric art
–
At this point ancient art begins, for the older literate cultures. The end-date for what is covered by the term thus varies greatly between different parts of the world, from the Upper Palaeolithic through the Mesolithic, cave paintings and portable art such as figurines and beads predominated, with decorative figured workings also seen on some utilitarian objects. In the Neolithic evidence of early pottery appeared, as did sculpture, Early rock art also first appeared in the Neolithic. It also saw the development in areas of artisans, a class of people specializing in the production of art. By the Iron Age, civilizations with writing had arisen from Ancient Egypt to Ancient China, some cultures, notably the Maya civilization, independently developed writing during the time they flourished, which was then later lost. These cultures may be classified as prehistoric, especially if their writing systems have not been deciphered, the earliest undisputed art originated with the Aurignacian archaeological culture in the Upper Paleolithic. However, there is evidence that the preference for the aesthetic emerged in the Middle Paleolithic. Some archaeologists have interpreted certain Middle Paleolithic artifacts as early examples of artistic expression, there are other claims of Middle Paleolithic sculpture, dubbed the Venus of Tan-Tan and the Venus of Berekhat Ram. In 2002 in Blombos cave, situated in South Africa, stones were discovered engraved with grid or cross-hatch patterns and this suggested to some researchers that early Homo sapiens were capable of abstraction and production of abstract art or symbolic art. Several archaeologists including Richard Klein are hesitant to accept the Blombos caves as the first example of actual art, the oldest undisputed works of figurative art were found in the Schwäbische Alb, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The earliest of these, the Venus figurine known as the Venus of Hohle Fels, monumental open-air art in Europe from this period includes the rock-art at Côa Valley and Mazouco in Portugal, Domingo García and Siega Verde in Spain, and Rocher gravé de Fornols in France. A cave at Turobong in South Korea containing human remains has found to contain carved deer bones. Petroglyphs of deer or reindeer found at Sokchang-ri may also date to the Upper Paleolithic, potsherds in a style reminiscent of early Japanese work have been found at Kosan-ri on Jeju island, which, due to lower sea levels at the time, would have been accessible from Japan. The oldest petroglyphs are dated to approximately the Mesolithic and late Upper Paleolithic boundary, the earliest undisputed African rock art dates back about 10,000 years. The first naturalistic paintings of humans found in Africa date back about 8,000 years apparently originating in the Nile River valley, noted sites containing early art include Tassili nAjjer in southern Algeria, Tadrart Acacus in Libya, and the Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad. Rock carvings at the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa have been dated to this age, contentious dates as far back as 29,000 years have been obtained at a site in Tanzania. A site at the Apollo 11 Cave complex in Namibia has been dated to 27,000 years, göbekli Tepe in Turkey has circles of massive T-shaped stone pillars dating back to the 10th–8th millennium BCE, the worlds oldest known megaliths. Many of the pillars are decorated with abstract, enigmatic pictograms, Asia was the cradle for several significant civilizations, most notably those of China and South Asia
Prehistoric art
–
Ceramic Moche stirrup spout vessel representing a
crustacean.
Prehistoric art
–
A
petroglyphic Saharan rock carving from southern
Algeria depicting an
antelope or
gazelle.
Prehistoric art
–
Gold shoe plaques from the
Iron Age Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave, Germany, c. 530 BC.
Prehistoric art
–
History of art
20.
Eastern art history
–
The history of Asian art, or Eastern art, includes a vast range of influences from various cultures and religions. Developments in Asian art historically parallel those in Western art, in general a few centuries earlier, Chinese art, Indian art, Korean art, Japanese art, each had significant influence on Western art, and, vice versa. Near Eastern art also had a significant influence on Western art, excluding prehistoric art, the art of Mesopotamia represents the oldest forms of Asian art. Balinese art is art of Hindu-Javanese origin that grew from the work of artisans of the Majapahit Kingdom, from the 16th until the 20th centuries, the village of Kamasan, Klungkung, was the centre of classical Balinese art. During the first part of the 20th century, new varieties of Balinese art developed, since the late twentieth century, Ubud and its neighboring villages established a reputation as the center of Balinese art. Ubud and Batuan are known for their paintings, Mas for their woodcarvings, Celuk for gold and silver smiths, eiseman correctly pointed out that Balinese art is actually carved, painted, woven, and prepared into objects intended for everyday use rather than as object d art. This groundbreaking period of creativity reached a peak in the late 1930s, a stream of famous visitors, including Charlie Chaplin and the anthropologists Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead, encouraged the talented locals to create highly original works. During their stay in Bali in the mid-1930s, Bateson and Mead collected over 2000 paintings, predominantly from the village of Batuan, among western artists, Spies and Bonnet are often credited for the modernization of traditional Balinese paintings. From the 1950s onwards Baliese artists incorporated aspects of perspective and anatomy from these artists, more importantly, they acted as agents of change by encouraging experimentation, and promoted departures from tradition. The result was an explosion of expression that increased the rate of change in Balinese art. Buddhist art traveled with believers as the spread, adapted. It developed to the north through Central Asia and into Eastern Asia to form the Northern branch of Buddhist art, bhutanese art is similar to the art of Tibet. Both are based upon Vajrayana Buddhism, with its pantheon of divine beings, the major orders of Buddhism in Bhutan are Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma. The former is a branch of the Kagyu School and is known for documenting the lineage of Buddhist masters. The Nyingma order is known for images of Padmasambhava, who is credited with introducing Buddhism into Bhutan in the 7th century, according to legend, Padmasambhava hid sacred treasures for future Buddhist masters, especially Pema Lingpa, to find. The treasure finders are also frequent subjects of Nyingma art, each divine being is assigned special shapes, colors, and/or identifying objects, such as lotus, conch-shell, thunderbolt, and begging bowl. All sacred images are made to specifications that have remained remarkably unchanged for centuries. Wall paintings and sculptures, in regions, are formulated on the principal ageless ideals of Buddhist art forms
Eastern art history
–
Li Cheng, Buddhist Temple in the Mountains, 11th century, China, ink on silk,
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, Missouri
Eastern art history
–
History of art
Eastern art history
–
Bhutanese
thanka of
Mt. Meru and the Buddhist Universe, 19th century,
Trongsa Dzong,
Trongsa, Bhutan
Eastern art history
–
Painted
Bhutanese Medicine Buddha mandala with
the goddess Prajnaparamita in center, 19th century,
Rubin Museum of Art Bhutanese art is similar to the art of
Tibet. Both are based upon
Vajrayana Buddhism, with its pantheon of divine beings.
21.
Chinese calligraphy
–
Chinese calligraphy is a form of calligraphy widely practiced in China and revered in the Chinese cultural sphere, which often includes Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. There is a standardization of the various styles of calligraphy in this tradition. Chinese calligraphy and ink and wash painting are closely related, since they are accomplished using similar tools, Chinese painting and calligraphy distinguish themselves from other cultural arts because they emphasize motion and are charged with dynamic life. According to Stanley-Baker, Calligraphy is sheer life experienced through energy in motion that is registered as traces on silk or paper, with time, Calligraphy has also led to the development of many forms of art in China, including seal carving, ornate paperweights, and inkstones. In China, calligraphy is referred to as Shūfǎ, literally, the way/method/law of writing, Shodō in Japan, Chinese calligraphy is normally regarded as one of the arts in the countries where it is practised. Chinese calligraphy focuses not only on methods of writing but also on cultivating ones character, Calligraphy is also considered an art where works are appreciated more or only for their aesthetic qualities. Chinese characters can be retraced to 4000 BC signs, in 2003, at the site of Xiaoshuangqiao, about 20 km southeast of the ancient Zhengzhou Shang City, ceramic inscriptions dating to 1435–1412 BC have been found by archaeologists. These writings are made in cinnabar paint, thus, the dates of writing in China have been confirmed for the Middle Shang period. The ceramic ritual vessel vats that bear these cinnabar inscriptions were all unearthed within the area of this site. They were unearthed mostly in the sacrificial pits holding cow skulls and cow horns, the inscriptions are written on the exterior and interior of the rim, and the exterior of the belly of the large type of vats. The characters are mostly written singly, character compounds or sentences are rarely seen, the contemporary Chinese characters set principles were clearly visible in ancient Chinas Jiǎgǔwén characters carved on ox scapulas and tortoise plastrons around 14th - 11th century BCE. Brush-written examples decay over time and have not survived, during the divination ceremony, after the cracks were made, characters were written with a brush on the shell or bone to be later carved. With the development of Jīnwén and Dàzhuàn cursive signs continued, moreover, each archaic kingdom of current China had its own set of characters. In Imperial China, the graphs on old steles — some dating from 200 BC, despite the fact that the main writing implement of the time was already the brush, little paper survives from this period, and the main examples of this style are on steles. The Lìshū style which is more regularized, and in ways similar to modern text, were also authorised under Qin Shi Huang. Kǎishū style — still in use today — and attributed to Wang Xizhi and its spread was encouraged by Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang, who ordered the printing of the classics using new wooden blocks in Kaishu. Printing technologies here allowed shapes to stabilize, the Kaishu shape of characters 1000 years ago was mostly similar to that at the end of Imperial China. But small changes have made, for example in the shape of 广 which is not absolutely the same in the Kangxi Dictionary of 1716 as in modern books
Chinese calligraphy
–
Chinese calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy
–
On Calligraphy by
Mi Fu,
Song Dynasty
Chinese calligraphy
–
A Chinese calligraphy set, Gurgaon, near Delhi, India
22.
Islamic calligraphy
–
Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, based upon the alphabet in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. It includes Arabic, Ottoman, and Persian calligraphy and it is known in Arabic as khatt Islami, meaning Islamic line, design, or construction. The development of Islamic calligraphy is strongly tied to the Quran, chapters, deep religious association with the Quran, as well as suspicion of figurative art as idolatrous has led calligraphy to become one of the major forms of artistic expression in Islamic cultures. As Islamic calligraphy is highly venerated, most works follow examples set by well established calligraphers, in antiquity, a pupil would copy a masters work repeatedly until their handwriting was similar. The most common style is divided into angular and cursive, each divided into several sub-styles. Some styles are often written using a metallic-tip pen, Islamic calligraphy is applied on a wide range of decorative mediums other than paper, such as tiles, vessels, carpets, and inscriptions. Before the advent of paper, papyrus and parchment were used for writing, the advent of paper revolutionized calligraphy. While monasteries in Europe treasured a few volumes, libraries in the Muslim world regularly contained hundreds. Coins were another support for calligraphy, beginning in 692, the Islamic caliphate reformed the coinage of the Near East by replacing visual depiction with words. This was especially true for dinars, or gold coins of high value, generally the coins were inscribed with quotes from the Quran. By the tenth century, the Persians, who had converted to Islam, so precious were calligraphic inscribed textiles that Crusaders brought them to Europe as prized possessions. A notable example is the Suaire de Saint-Josse, used to wrap the bones of St. Josse in the Abbey of St. Josse-sur-Mer near Caen in northwestern France, Kufic is the oldest form of the Arabic script. The style emphasizes rigid and angular strokes, which appears as a form of the old Nabataean script. The Archaic Kufi consisted of about 17 letters without diacritic dots or accents, afterwards, dots and accents were added to help readers with pronunciation, and the set of Arabic letters rose to 29. It is developed around the end of the 7th century in the areas of Kufa, Iraq, the style later developed into several varieties, including floral, foliated, plaited or interlaced, bordered, and squared kufi. There were no set rules of using the Kufic script, the common feature is the angular, linear shapes of the characters. Common varieties include square Kufic, a known as bannai. Contemporary calligraphy using this style is popular in modern decorations
Islamic calligraphy
–
Calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy
–
The phrase
Bismillah in an 18th-century Islamic calligraphy from the
Ottoman region.
Islamic calligraphy
–
9th century
Qur'an, an early kufic example from the
Abbasid period.
Islamic calligraphy
–
Bowl with
Kufic Calligraphy, 10th century.
Brooklyn Museum.
23.
Tang dynasty
–
The Tang dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It is generally regarded as a point in Chinese civilization. Its territory, acquired through the campaigns of its early rulers, rivaled that of the Han dynasty. The dynasty was founded by the Lǐ family, who seized power during the decline, the dynasty was briefly interrupted when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, proclaiming the Second Zhou dynasty and becoming the only Chinese empress regnant. In two censuses of the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tang records estimated the population by number of registered households at about 50 million people. Various kingdoms and states paid tribute to the Tang court, while the Tang also conquered or subdued several regions which it controlled through a protectorate system. Besides political hegemony, the Tang also exerted a powerful influence over neighboring states such as those in Korea, Japan. Like the previous Sui dynasty, the Tang dynasty maintained a service system by recruiting scholar-officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. This civil order was undermined by the rise of military governors known as jiedushi during the 9th century. Chinese culture flourished and further matured during the Tang era, it is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Two of Chinas most famous poets, Li Bai and Du Fu, belonged to this age, as did many famous painters such as Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, there was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and geographical works. The adoption of the title Tängri Qaghan by the Tang Emperor Taizong in addition to his title as emperor was eastern Asias first simultaneous kingship, there were many notable innovations during the Tang, including the development of woodblock printing. Buddhism became an influence in Chinese culture, with native Chinese sects gaining prominence. However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state, subsequently declining in influence, although the dynasty and central government were in decline by the 9th century, art and culture continued to flourish. This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage, which includes the Tang poet Li Bai, the Tang Emperors also had Xianbei maternal ancestry, from Emperor Gaozu of Tangs Xianbei mother Duchess Dugu. He had prestige and military experience, and was a first cousin of Emperor Yang of Sui, Li Yuan rose in rebellion in 617, along with his son and his equally militant daughter Princess Pingyang, who raised and commanded her own troops. In winter 617, Li Yuan occupied Changan, relegated Emperor Yang to the position of Taishang Huang or retired emperor, and acted as regent to the puppet child-emperor, Emperor Gong of Sui. On the news of Emperor Yangs murder by General Yuwen Huaji on June 18,618, Li Yuan declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty, the Tang
Tang dynasty
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History of China
Tang dynasty
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Tang dynasty circa 700
Tang dynasty
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Portrait painting of
Emperor Yang of Sui, commissioned in 643 by
Taizong, painted by
Yan Liben (600–673)
Tang dynasty
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Emperor Taizong (r. 626–649) receives
Gar Tongtsen Yülsung, ambassador of
Tibet, at his court; painted in 641 AD by
Yan Liben (600–673)
24.
Song Dynasty
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The Song dynasty was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and continued until 1279. It succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, coincided with the Liao and Western Xia dynasties and it was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass, the Song dynasty is divided into two distinct periods, Northern and Southern. During the Northern Song, the Song capital was in the city of Bianjing. The Southern Song refers to the period after the Song lost control of its half to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze, the Southern Song dynasty considerably bolstered its naval strength to defend its waters and land borders and to conduct maritime missions abroad. To repel the Jin, and later the Mongols, the Song developed revolutionary new military technology augmented by the use of gunpowder, in 1234, the Jin dynasty was conquered by the Mongols, who took control of northern China, maintaining uneasy relations with the Southern Song. Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and his younger brother Kublai Khan was proclaimed the new Great Khan, though his claim was only partially recognized by the Mongols in the west. In 1271, Kublai Khan was proclaimed the Emperor of China, after two decades of sporadic warfare, Kublai Khans armies conquered the Song dynasty in 1279. The Mongol invasion led to a reunification under the Yuan dynasty, the population of China doubled in size during the 10th and 11th centuries. The Northern Song census recorded a population of roughly 50 million, much like the Han and this data is found in the Standard Histories. However, it is estimated that the Northern Song had a population of some 100 million people and this dramatic increase of population fomented an economic revolution in pre-modern China. The expansion of the population, growth of cities, and the emergence of a national economy led to the withdrawal of the central government from direct involvement in economic affairs. The lower gentry assumed a role in grassroots administration and local affairs. Appointed officials in county and provincial centers relied upon the gentry for their services, sponsorship. Social life during the Song was vibrant, citizens gathered to view and trade precious artworks, the populace intermingled at public festivals and private clubs, and cities had lively entertainment quarters. The spread of literature and knowledge was enhanced by the expansion of woodblock printing. Technology, science, philosophy, mathematics, and engineering flourished over the course of the Song, although the institution of the civil service examinations had existed since the Sui dynasty, it became much more prominent in the Song period
Song Dynasty
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History of China
Song Dynasty
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Northern Song in 1111
Song Dynasty
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Emperor Taizu of Song (r. 960–976), a court portrait painting
Song Dynasty
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Pillow, sandstone with white and brown slip black, incised decoration, Northern Song dynasty, 12th century
25.
Chan Buddhism
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Chan, from Sanskrit dhyāna, is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism combined with Taoism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming dominant during the Tang and Song dynasties, after the Yuan, Chan more or less fused with Pure Land Buddhism. Chan spread south to Vietnam as Thiền and north to Korea as Seon, the historical records required for a complete, accurate account of early Chan history no longer exist. The history of Chan in China can be divided in several periods, Chan as we know it today is the result of a long history, with many changes and contingent factors. Each period had different types of Chan, some of which have remained influential, little written information is left from this period. The Six Patriarchs, including Bodhidharma and Huineng, were among the first teachers of Chan, the split occurred between the Northern and the Southern School. The Classical period, from the end of the An Lushan Rebellion around 765 CE to the beginning of the Song Dynasty around 950 CE. This is the time of the masters of Chan, such as Mazu Daoyi and Linji Yixuan, and the creation of the yulu genre. The Literary period, from around 950 to 1250, which spans the era of the Song Dynasty, monks compiled collections of gongan, sayings and deeds by the famous masters, appended with poetry and commentary. This genre reflects the influence of literati on the development of Chan, people from this time idealized the previous period as the golden age of Chan, producing the literature that portrays the supposed spontaneity of the celebrated masters. It was based on the practice of dhyana, and is connected to the figures of Bodhiharma and its principal text is the Two Entrances and Four Practices, attributed to Bodhidharma. Early Chan Chan took its first clear contours, main factions were the Northern School, Southern School and Oxhead School. Middle Chan Iconoclastic masters became to prominence, prime figures are Mazu Daoyi, Shitou Xiqian, Linji Yixuan, and Xuefeng Yicun. Song-Dynasty Chan Chan took its shape, including the picture of the golden age of the Chan of the Tang Dynasty. Key figures were Dahui Zonggao, who introduced the Hua Tou practice, and Hongzhi Zhengjue, main factions were the Linji school and the Caodong school. Classic koan collections, such as the Blue Cliff Record, were assembled, in this phase Chan is transported to Japan, and exerts a great influence on Korean Seon via Jinul. Neither Ferguson nor McRae gives a periodisation for Chinese Chan after the Song Dynasty, when Buddhism came to China, it was adapted to the Chinese culture and understanding. Theories about the influence of other schools in the evolution of Chan vary widely and heavily reliant upon speculative correlation rather than on written records or histories, a number of other conflicting theories exist
Chan Buddhism
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Chan Buddhism
Chan Buddhism
Chan Buddhism
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Bodhidharma with Dazu Huike. Painting by
Sesshū Tōyō, 15th century.
Chan Buddhism
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Rinzai
26.
Tiantai
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Tiantai is a school of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam that revers the Lotus Sutra as the highest teaching in Buddhism. In Japan the school is known as Tendai, in Korea as Cheontae, the name is derived from the fact that Zhiyi, the fourth patriarch, lived on Tiantai Mountain. Zhiyi is also regarded as the first major figure to make a significant break from the Indian tradition, Tiantai is sometimes also called The Lotus School, after the central role of the Lotus Sutra in its teachings. Unlike earlier schools of Chinese Buddhism, the Tiantai school was entirely of Chinese origin, over time, the Tiantai school became doctrinally broad, able to absorb and give rise to other movements within Buddhism, though without any formal structure. The tradition emphasized both scriptural study and meditative practice, and taught the attainment of Buddhahood through observing the mind. The school is based on the teachings of Zhiyi, Zhanran, and Zhili. These teachers took an approach called classification of teaching in an attempt to harmonize the numerous and this was achieved through a particular interpretation of the Lotus Sūtra. Due to the use of Nāgārjunas philosophy of the Middle Way, the sixth century dhyāna master Huiwen is traditionally considered to be the second patriarch of the Tiantai school. Huiwen later transmitted his teachings to Chan master Nanyue Huisi, who is traditionally figured as the third patriarch, during meditation, he is said to have realized the Lotus Samādhi, indicating enlightenment and Buddhahood. Huisi then transmitted his teachings to Zhiyi, traditionally figured as the patriarch of Tiantai. He authored many treatises such as explanations of the Buddhist texts, the above lineage was proposed by Buddhists of later times and do not reflect the popularity of the monks at that time. Most scholars consider Zhiyi to have been the founder of the Tiantai school, since he did the most to systematize and popularize the doctrines. At a later date, the sixth patriarch, Zhanran. Zhiyi analyzed and organized all the Āgamas and Mahayana sutras into a system of five periods and these Āgamas were an upaya, or skillful means - an example of the Buddha employing his boundless wisdom to lead those people towards the truth. Zhiyis classification culminated with the Lotus Sutra, which he held to be the synthesis of Buddhist doctrine. The difference on Zhiyis explanation to the Golden Light Sutra caused a debate during the Song dynasty, in addition to its doctrinal basis in Indian Buddhist texts, the Tiantai school also created its own meditation texts which emphasize the principles of śamatha and vipaśyanā. Of the Tiantai meditation treatises, Zhiyis Concise Śamatha-vipaśyanā, Mahā-śamatha-vipaśyanā, rujun Wu identifies the work Mohe Zhiguan of Zhiyi as the seminal meditation text of the Tiantai school. Tiantai classified the Buddhas teachings in Five Periods and Eight Teachings and this classification is usually attributed to Zhiyi, but is probably a later development
Tiantai
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The
Guoqing Temple on
Tiantai Mountain, originally built in 598 during the
Sui dynasty and renovated during the reign of the
Qing Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722–35).
Tiantai
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The bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara, an important figure from the Lotus Sūtra.
Tiantai
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Components
27.
Sesshu Toyo
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Sesshū Tōyō was the most prominent Japanese master of ink and wash painting from the middle Muromachi period. He was born into the samurai Oda family, then brought up, however, early in life he displayed a talent for visual arts, and eventually became one of the greatest Japanese artists of his time, widely revered throughout Japan and China. Sesshū studied under Tenshō Shūbun and was influenced by Chinese Song dynasty landscape painting, in 1468–69, he undertook a voyage to Ming China, where too he was quickly recognized as an outstanding painter. Upon returning to Japan, Sesshū built himself a studio and established a large following, although many paintings survive that bear Sesshūs signature or seal, only a few can be securely attributed to him. His most well-known work is the so-called Long Landscape Scroll, Sesshū was born in Akahama, a settlement in Bitchū Province, which is now part of western Okayama Prefecture. His family name was Oda, but his name is unknown. He received the name Tōyō in 1431, when he was enrolled at the Hōfuku-ji, once, he was punished for disobedience and tied to a pillar in the hall of the temple. After a while, a priest came to see him and jumped up with surprise—there was a very close to Sesshūs foot. However, it was actually a picture which Sesshū had painted with his tears, although the story is famous, its authenticity is questionable. At any rate, during his early studies Sesshū would have received instruction not only in religion, around 1440 Sesshū left Bitchū for Kyoto, a large city which was then the capital of Japan. He lived as a monk at Shōkoku-ji, a famous Zen temple, there, Sesshū studied Zen under Shunrin Suto, a famous Zen master, and painting under Tenshō Shūbun, the most highly regarded Japanese painter of the time. Shūbuns style, like that of most Japanese Zen painters, was inspired by Chinese Song dynasty painters such as Ma Yuan, Xia Gui, Guo Xi, there are no surviving works by Sesshū from this period, but even his late work shows similar influences. Sesshū spent some 20 years in Kyoto, and then left for Yamaguchi Prefecture to become chief priest of Unkoku temple and it was around this time that he started calling himself Sesshū. Yamaguchi was where many Japanese expeditions to China started, and perhaps Sesshūs choice of the city was dictated by a wish to visit that country. He secured an invitation from Ōuchi clan, the lords of Yamaguchi and one of the most powerful families in Japan and his duties were to buy Chinese works of art for wealthy Japanese patrons, and to visit and study at Chinese Zen temples. Although the artist himself was disappointed in the art of Ming dynasty and he was quickly recognized as an important painter, and a contemporary source indicates that he may have received a commission from the Imperial Palace at Beijing. Whether this is true, or whether he accepted is unknown, Sesshū stayed in China until 1469. Because of the Ōnin War, he could not stay in Yamaguchi, and settled instead in Ōita Prefecture in Kyūshū and he occupied himself with painting and teaching, and frequently made trips to various areas of Japan
Sesshu Toyo
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A 16th century copy of Sesshū's 1491 self-portrait
Sesshu Toyo
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Shōkoku-ji, the Zen temple where Sesshū studied painting under Shūbun
Sesshu Toyo
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View of Ama-no-Hashidate (c. 1502–1505)
Sesshu Toyo
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Huike Offering His Arm to Bodhidharma (1496)
28.
Daoism
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Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao. The Tao is an idea in most Chinese philosophical schools, in Taoism, however. Taoism differs from Confucianism by not emphasizing rigid rituals and social order, the Tao Te Ching, a compact book containing teachings attributed to Laozi, is widely considered the keystone work of the Taoist tradition, together with the later writings of Zhuangzi. By the Han dynasty, the sources of Taoism had coalesced into a coherent tradition of religious organizations. In earlier ancient China, Taoists were thought of as hermits or recluses who did not participate in political life, Zhuangzi was the best known of these, and it is significant that he lived in the south, where he was part of local Chinese shamanic traditions. Women shamans played an important role in this tradition, which was strong in the southern state of Chu. Early Taoist movements developed their own institution in contrast to shamanism, shamans revealed basic texts of Taoism from early times down to at least the 20th century. Institutional orders of Taoism evolved in various strains that in recent times are conventionally grouped into two main branches, Quanzhen Taoism and Zhengyi Taoism. After Laozi and Zhuangzi, the literature of Taoism grew steadily and was compiled in form of a canon—the Daozang—which was published at the behest of the emperor, throughout Chinese history, Taoism was nominated several times as a state religion. After the 17th century, however, it fell from favor, Chinese alchemy, Chinese astrology, Chan Buddhism, several martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine, feng shui, and many styles of qigong have been intertwined with Taoism throughout history. Beyond China, Taoism also had influence on surrounding societies in Asia, Taoism also has a presence in Hong Kong, Macau, and in Southeast Asia. English speakers continue to debate the preferred romanization of the words Daoism and Taoism, the root Chinese word 道 way, path is romanized tao in the older Wade–Giles system and dào in the modern Pinyin system. In linguistic terminology, English Taoism/Daoism is formed from the Chinese loanword tao/dao 道 way, route, principle and the native suffix -ism. The debate over Taoism vs. Daoism involves sinology, phonemes, loanwords, Daoism is pronounced /ˈdaʊ. ɪzəm/, but English speakers disagree whether Taoism should be /ˈdaʊ. ɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊ. ɪzəm/. In theory, both Wade–Giles tao and Pinyin dao are articulated identically, as are Taoism and Daoism, an investment book titled The Tao Jones Averages illustrates this /daʊ/ pronunciations widespread familiarity. In speech, Tao and Taoism are often pronounced /ˈtaʊ/ and ˈtaʊ. ɪzəm/, lexicography shows American and British English differences in pronouncing Taoism. Taoist philosophy or Taology, or the mystical aspect — The philosophical doctrines based on the texts of the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching and these texts were linked together as Taoist philosophy during the early Han Dynasty, but notably not before. It is unlikely that Zhuangzi was familiar with the text of the Daodejing, however, the discussed distinction is rejected by the majority of Western and Japanese scholars
Daoism
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Taoist rite at the Qingyanggong (Green Goat Temple) in
Chengdu
Daoism
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Gates of the Chunyang
gong in
Datong,
Shanxi. It's a temple dedicated to
Lü Dongbin.
Daoism
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A
daoshi (Taoist priest) in
Macau.
Daoism
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Jintai
guan (金台观) in
Baoji,
Shaanxi.
29.
Enso
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In Zen Buddhism, an ensō is a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. The ensō symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe and it is characterised by a minimalism born of Japanese aesthetics. Drawing ensō is a practice of Japanese ink painting—sumi-e. The tools and mechanics of drawing the ensō are the same as used in traditional Japanese calligraphy. The circle may be open or closed, in the former case the circle is incomplete, allowing for movement and development as well as the perfection of all things. Zen practitioners relate the idea to wabi-sabi, the beauty of imperfection, when the circle is closed, it represents perfection, akin to Platos perfect form, the reason why the circle was used for centuries in the construction of cosmological models, see Ptolemy. Usually a person draws the ensō in one fluid, expressive stroke, when drawn according to the sōsho style of Japanese calligraphy, the brushstroke is especially swift. Once the ensō is drawn, one does not change it and it evidences the character of its creator and the context of its creation in a brief, contiguous period of time. Drawing ensō is a practice that one might perform as often as once per day. This spiritual practice of drawing ensō or writing Japanese calligraphy for self-realization is called hitsuzendō, ensō exemplifies the various dimensions of the Japanese wabi-sabi perspective and aesthetic, Fukinsei, kanso, koko, shizen, yugen, datsuzoku, and seijaku. In 1995, Lucent Technologies hired the San Francisco office of Landor Associates, in the design of the logo, Landor colored an image of an ensō red. The designer intended the brushstroke to imply human creativity, and the red to convey urgency and they named it the Innovation Ring. Our name and symbol represent the new spirit and vision of our company reads a public relations statement from Lucent. In North America, the logo was widely misunderstood, after years of staying-power and familiarity, the logo became more accepted by industry people in the West, although it was still not well understood. Nonetheless, soon other logo designers began to be influenced by the work, Lucent stopped using the logo after merging with Alcatel of France to form Alcatel-Lucent. A variation of the symbol was used as a logo by Obaku Ltd. They continue to use an ensō shape as a wristwatch brand, thinking, an international design and consulting house centred in London, uses an ensō meaning Expression as one of their four icons, along with icons for science, pattern and vision. The book The Lean Startup uses an enso on the cover, One of the concepts in the approach includes a learning cycle Build - Measure - Learn
Enso
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Ensō (c. 2000) by
Kanjuro Shibata XX. Some artists draw ensō with an opening in the circle, while others close the circle.
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