scroll painting

scroll painting
Art form practiced primarily in the Far East.

The two dominant types are the Chinese landscape scroll and the Japanese narrative scroll. China's greatest contribution to the history of painting, the landscape hand scroll, reached its greatest period in the 10th–11th century with such masters as Xu Daoning and Fan Kuan. The Japanese scroll paintings of the 12th–13th century developed the storytelling potential of painting to its greatest extent. In the earliest, Murasaki Shikibu's literary masterpiece The Tale of Genji, the narrative is told in pictures alternating with text. Eventually the illustration stood nearly alone. Typical subjects were the stories and biographies popular during Japan's Middle Ages.

* * *

art
      art form practiced primarily in East Asia. The two dominant types may be illustrated by the Chinese landscape scroll, which is that culture's greatest contribution to the history of painting, and the Japanese narrative scroll, which developed the storytelling potential of painting.

 The earliest “illustrative” Chinese scrolls, forerunners of the narrative type, date from the late 4th century AD and teach Buddhist moral lessons. The continuous scroll form was fully developed by the 7th century. Such a scroll is opened from right to left and viewed on a table. The landscape hand scroll ( makimono), a pictorial rather than narrative form, reached its greatest period in the 10th and 11th centuries with masters such as Xu Daoning and Fan Kuan. The viewer becomes a traveler in these paintings, which offer the experience of moving through space and time. There is frequent depiction of roads or paths that seem to lead the viewer's eye into the work.

      Only about 2 feet (0.6 metre) of such a scroll should be viewed at one time or the spirit of the work is violated. One problem faced by the artists was a need for multiple vanishing points in generating a sense of perspective, since the imaginary viewer was assumed not to be stationary. They solved this in a variety of ways, causing one perspective point to fade unnoticed into the next.

      Nearly contemporary with the Chinese panoramic landscapes are the Japanese emakimono (emaki), scroll paintings of the 12th and 13th centuries. These are long horizontal scrolls, 10–15 inches (25–38 cm) wide and up to 30 feet (9 metres) long. This painting tradition is called Yamato-e, or Japanese painting, to distinguish it from Japanese work in the Chinese manner. In the earliest example of this form, The Tale of Genji, Japan's great literary masterpiece, is shown in pictures alternating with text. Eventually the illustration in such works stood nearly alone, and typical subjects were the stories and biographies popular during Japan's Middle Ages. The Japanese taste for sensation and drama finds vivid expression in these scrolls. The buildings pictured in them are frequently without roofs, so that intimate interior scenes can be shown, and backgrounds are tilted forward so as to pack more incident into a smaller space.

      During the renaissance of Chinese tradition that followed this period, an alcove intended for a picture or flower arrangement, the tokonoma, was introduced. Paintings were made vertical instead of horizontal in order to fit this space. These hanging kakemono, with their static compositions and contemplative themes, are more in the nature of Western paintings.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • scroll painting — scroll painting, 1. the ancient Chinese and Japanese art of painting figures and scenes on scrolls, usually telling a story. 2. a painting of this kind …   Useful english dictionary

  • scroll painting — /ˈskroʊl peɪntɪŋ/ (say skrohl paynting) noun a traditional form of Chinese painting on a cloth or paper scroll …  

  • Cheriyal scroll painting — is a highly stylised form of narrative Nakashi art. It is one of the many forms of folk art found in India External links Hindu Article Categories: Indian culture stubsPainting stubsSchools of Indian painting …   Wikipedia

  • painting — /payn ting/, n. 1. a picture or design executed in paints. 2. the act, art, or work of a person who paints. 3. the works of art painted in a particular manner, place, or period: a book on Flemish painting. 4. an instance of covering a surface… …   Universalium

  • Painting — For other uses, see Painting (disambiguation). The Mona Lisa, by Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci, is one of the most recognizable artistic paintings in the world. Painting is the practice of applying paint, pig …   Wikipedia

  • scroll — like, adj. /skrohl/, n. 1. a roll of parchment, paper, copper, or other material, esp. one with writing on it: a scroll containing the entire Old Testament. 2. something, esp. an ornament, resembling a partly unrolled sheet of paper or having a… …   Universalium

  • scroll — ► NOUN 1) a roll of parchment or paper for writing or painting on. 2) an ornamental design or carving resembling a partly unrolled scroll of parchment. ► VERB ▪ move displayed text or graphics on a computer screen in order to view different parts …   English terms dictionary

  • Scroll — A scroll is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper which has been written, drawn or painted upon for the purpose of transmitting information or using as a decoration. It is distinguished from a roll (see below) by virtue of being intended for… …   Wikipedia

  • scroll — I UK [skrəʊl] / US [skroʊl] noun [countable] Word forms scroll : singular scroll plural scrolls 1) a long roll of paper or similar material, especially one with official written information or ancient writing on it 2) a drawing, painting, or… …   English dictionary

  • scroll — scroll1 [ skroul ] verb intransitive or transitive to move information up or down a computer screen in order to read it scroll scroll 2 [ skroul ] noun count 1. ) a long roll of paper or similar material, especially one with official written… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”