Non-Western Blog

 

Non-western art is leaps and bounds different from western art. Whereas a lot of western art from ye olden times favored colors, eastern art placed a much greater emphasis on lines. They are prevalent mostly in two-dimensional art, but even some sculptures have lines with explicit color differences between them.

Leshan Giant Buddha

713-803

Unknown

The first piece on this blog is the Leshan Giant Buddha. It's the only sculpture on this blog post. The statue depicts Matreya, who - if memory serves - is said to descend from heaven when Buddhism is on the brink of collapse and preach the dharma. The statue took ninety years to carve, with the project starting in 713 and ending in 803, easily taking a generation or more to complete. It is now a tourist attraction and for good reason. It's the tallest standing statue of the Buddha in the world. I love this piece. I'm usually not one for sculptures, but I love the history behind it, and that it's managed to stand the test of time so well. Also as silly as it sounds, a lot of my appreciation of this piece is how big it is. The effort required cannot be denied, and the smaller statues around him really just add to it.

Night Shining White

713

Han Gan

Night Shining White was created by Han Gan in 713. Han Gan was particularly good at drawing horses. Something I just learned is that the seals dotted around the borders of the piece were seals of various families that owned the artwork. The sheer number of them indicates just how old this piece really is, and I feel that that adds to the charm of this piece, and shows just how many stories this art has behind it. Each stamp is a slice of history, and while I'm unsure how intentional the seal color was, I feel that the red really compliments art like this well. Even if it's not supposed to be a part of the art the red pops and really pleases the eye.

Along the River During the Qing Ming Festival

12th Century

Zhang Zeduan

I'd like to add a quick preamble to this art piece. This is not the full art, far from it. Blogger would not let me upload the full artwork. This slice of Along the River During the Qing Ming Festival is nothing compared to the whole artwork. Please, I implore you to go find the whole artwork. It is absolutely massive. If I were to give you even a slight idea of how huge it is, the whole art piece is on Wikipedia, and the dimensions are listed as 38,414 pixels by 1,800 pixels. That said, Along the River During the Qing Ming Festival was made in the twelfth century by Zhang Zeduan, an artist during the Song Dynasty. The piece depicts all walks of life along the river, from rich to poor and urban to rural. It's garnered the nickname of "The Chinese Mona Lisa" and for good reason. I absolutely adore this piece. The sheer scope of effort and the level of detail from the people to the trees to the houses and even the river shows just how much effort was put into this art. I love just how much activity there is in this piece, and I feel like I can almost hear the hustle and bustle along this river. I've also been a fan of the handscroll color and the subtle colors employed (though that might just be an effect of age) really makes the piece just that more pleasing. There's so much I could say about this piece, but to simplify it, I would say that out of the three, this is definitely my favorite.

Sources:

Along the River During the Qing Ming Festival - “Along the River during the Qingming Festival.” China Online Museum, 29 Jan. 2016, www.comuseum.com/painting/famous-chinese-paintings/along-the-river-during-the-qingming-festival/. 

Leshan Giant Buddha - “Leshan Giant Buddha.” Leshan Giant Buddha, Sichuan, www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/sichuan/leshan/buddha_statue.htm.

 

Night Shining White - “Night Shining White.” Metmuseum.org, 

www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39901.