Ancient Japanese Art Essay Research Paper When

Ancient Japanese Art Essay, Research Paper

When I finally got to the museum, I drug my feet a bit at the thought of having to take another art history class and about having to write another art history paper. I flashed my yellow pass and got my clearance to enter. I clamped the DAM purple badge to my oversized jacket and was on my way to the elevator. I don t even like Chinese art work. I staggered around like a zombie whining the whole time.

There were a few pieces that I admired, nothing that I loved though. The large and intricately painted vases really stood out from everything else. I don t like things that are too complicated to even remember when you can t see them. I thought about writing about the little porcelain cups, but thought that tea drinking really couldn t be all that important to teach me about art. I circled the exhibit at least twelve times before an hour had passed and I had to get going soon. I sat down by this rather sloppy scroll of a landscape and found it much more real than anything else there. I selected Along the Wu River. It was done by a man named Shen Zhou who was born in China in 1947 and died in 1509. I liked some of the pieces that were showcased on the floor, but this is the one that I found to be a little mysterious.

When I first saw this piece of work I questioned its value and just why it was in the museum because two feet away on either side of it were beautiful inkings and paintings. I looked back in the middle and found this piece of art to be more of a piece of crap. So I looked harder.

The work is painted on part of a horizontally unraveled scroll. The exposed part of the scroll is one foot high and four feet from left to right. To the far right the re-scroll had a few feet rolled up into a tube. To the left an unknown amount of the scroll is still hidden from view. It looks like at least another fifteen feet.

Black ink is applied delicately on the buff and textured paper. The paper reminds me of brown paper bags for lunch, but lighter. It also appeared to have the same smooth yet fuzzy texture to it. The brush strokes consist of mostly horizontal motions. The strokes are rather equal with each other. All the lines are haphazard looking but also contained and precise. I has almost a coloring book style to it, but the lines aren t quite cookie cutter all the way around. There s no real shading, mostly bolder lines on one side to suggest shadows and a light source. There are a few lighter bamboo thickets in the background on the opposite side of the river. Above that there are some light gray washed mountains giving a nice skyline. The line weights also suggest the roughness of the rocks and the mountains, as well as the texture of the bark on the trees.

and there are four red stamps on the right side of the scroll. The stamps fall in place vertically, each right above or under another. Each of the red stamps contains characters, but ninety percent of these characters look like people and animals.

The shape and the form of the landscape consists of rolling rocks, gangly trees, a path, and of course the Wu River. The whole flow of the painting moves from left to right with a few spins and swirls along the way. This panoramic has a strange sense of space that immerses and holds you. A feeling of tranquillity and serenity warmly radiate from the scroll. Starting to the left there is a part of a hill that slopes down just a bit until it reaches the path. This is all far to the left, still touching the scroll. After the path, another hill slopes up and up to form a peak of a small mountain/ rocky hill at about one foot into the painting. There is moss-like plants growing in a random pattern all the way to the top. This mountain slants slightly to the right as if something is pulling it. After the mountain slopes back down, you can see the river. This is about one and a half feet into the painting. The river is plain and empty except for a few land formations protruding from the middle and far right. These land formations are darker gray. The river continues all the way to the far right of the painting where it meets another hill going up and is pinched off from sight. It happens right where the second red stamp falls. The first is right above it and is bigger in the sky.

The ground between the bottom of the hill on the left and the bottom of the hill on the right consists of three peaks. Each with a group of three leafless, but strong looking trees. They seem to reach for the heavens and stretch from a nap of a thousand years. There are two evergreenish looking trees on the hill to the right. The area between the hills and under the river also contains large stones that leave cracks for thicket to grow.

The rivers horizon line is right in the middle of the painting. Across the river light bamboo grows straight up. Above the bamboo are the gray washed mountains. I don’t know if I would call this aerial perspective or linear. It is sort of in between. Depth was attempted and accomplished, but just to a limited degree. It looks like a real place.

Seeing the feelings I noticed, I thought about this piece and this place. I wonder where it is or what its significance is. I wonder why the artist took the time that he did to paint this. Who is this artist that took the time.

I just am surprised at the amount of emotion that came through at the time. I thou