ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY OF ART AND PHILOSOPHIES OF EASTERN ASIA

The course aims to analyze the artistic context of East Asia, with a particular focus on the emergence and evolution of aesthetic thought related to the development of painting in China (for Chinese language students) and Japan (for Japanese language students). The most important aesthetic treatises will be examined to understand key cultural phenomena about their historical context, facilitating the comprehension of stylistic aspects of the most significant artistic productions and the acquisition of specialized vocabulary. The course will also pay particular attention to the interplay between Chinese and Japanese painting, especially about the period between the 17th and 19th centuries, using comparative methods and synoptic frameworks.

Knowledge and Understanding: A general overview of artistic and pictorial themes and issues in China and Japan, is essential for understanding the processes that led to pictorial experimentation and the related critical debate, from the origins to the 20th century.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding: Students will be able to understand major artworks and relate them to the cultural and social context of China and Japan within the broader geographical scope of East Asia.

Autonomy of Judgment: Students will develop the ability to critically engage with texts, individuals, or institutions related to Chinese and Japanese art and culture, across different everyday and professional settings.

Communication Skills: Students will be able to articulate and express their ideas, projects, and the results obtained through the study of the course content in a coherent and complex manner.

The course will focus on the analysis and understanding of the theoretical and practical tools necessary to comprehend the development and the role of the arts within the historical and cultural context of East Asia. The course is primarily, but not exclusively, centered on the emergence and evolution of painting in China and Japan, with particular attention to the artistic, social, and cultural exchanges between the two countries over the centuries. Special emphasis will be placed on the artistic and cultural interactions that occurred in Nagasaki from the 17th century onward. In this regard, knowledge of the specific philosophical and cultural contexts is essential to understanding the dynamics behind the various phenomena examined. Each student will have the opportunity to explore the artistic, especially pictorial, development of China and Japan according to their academic focus, also through an intercultural analytical perspective that encompasses the dynamics involving the entirety of East Asia. The course encourages active student participation during the lectures.

The program will be carried out within 6 ECTS, and the main topics of study will include:

-          Outline of the origins of Chinese and Japanese art

-          The Bronze Age in the Asian context and the birth of the State

-          The founding of the empire: the tomb of the first Chinese emperor

-          The origins of painting in China and Japan

-          Aesthetic principles of Chinese and Japanese painting

-          The evolution of painting in China and Japan

-          Painting during the Ming dynasty in China and the Muromachi period in Japan

-          Scholar-painting in China and Nanga painting in Japan

-          Zen monks of the Obaku school in Japan

-          The work of Chinese painters in Nagasaki

-          The Nagasaki school and the Nanpin school

-          Aesthetic and stylistic comparison between Chinese and Japanese paintings

-          The literati of the Qing dynasty in China and Ukiyo-e prints in Japan

-          From Chinese academic painting to the Kano school in Japan

-          Imperial architecture in China and traditional architecture in Japan

-          Overview of the evolution of sculpture in China and Japan.

Chinese students:

1. CATERINA L., Yishu. Manuale di Storia dell’arte cinese, Aracne, Roma, 2007;
2. LUCIDI M. T., «Al di là del pennello. Alcune considerazioni sulla concezione dello spazio, per la lettura della Pittura di Paesaggio» In AA VV (a cura di), Alla maniera di… Convegno in ricordo di Maria Teresa Lucidi, la Sapienza, Roma, 2010, pp. 713-72;
3. MECCARELLI M., «Chinese Painters in Nagasaki: Style and Artistic Contaminatio during the Tokugawa Period (1603–1868)» Ming Qing Studies 2015, Aracne, Roma, pp. 175–236;

Japanese students:​

1. VESCO SILVIA, L’arte giapponese dalle origini all’età moderna, Torino, Einaudi, 2021.
2.  LUCIDI M. T., «Al di là del pennello. Alcune considerazioni sulla concezione dello spazio, per la lettura della Pittura di Paesaggio» In AA VV (a cura di), Alla maniera di… Convegno in ricordo di Maria Teresa Lucidi, Casa editrice la Sapienza, Roma, 2010, pp. 713-726.
3. MECCARELLI M., «Chinese Painters in Nagasaki: Style and Artistic Contaminatio during the Tokugawa Period (1603–1868)» Ming Qing Studies 2015, pp. 175–236.

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).