Japanese Painting and Prints
History of Art 682

Professor Julia Andrews Autumn, 2000
Class: Tuesday and Thursday, 1:30-3:18, 211 Hayes Hall (Call no. 10315-3)
Office Hours @3:30 in 103 Hayes Hall Tues. & Thurs.

Course Objectives

This course is a survey of the major trends in Japanese pictorial art. We will study important developments in style and subject matter, with particular emphasis on the relationship between Japanese art and that of continental Asia. You should come away from the course with greater awareness of values intrinsic to Japanese painting, regardless of whether these values parallel western artistic concerns or conflict with them. Specifically, you should acquire an understanding of the stylistic development of Japanese painting, be able to distinguish characteristic works of one period, school, or artist from those of another, be aware of the cultural issues that underpinned artistic developments, and have a general idea of the political and social changes that might parallel the development of each new type of painting.

Course Format

The class will be conducted as a series of slide-illustrated lectures.  Each section of material will be presented chronologically. You will be examined on slides shown in class; for this reason, regular class attendance is expected.

Tentative Course Schedule

Week 1: Pre-Buddhist Japan; The Introduction of Buddhism; State Buddhism in the Nara Period
Week 2: The Painting of Esoteric Buddhism (Mikkyo); Buddhist Painting in the Heian Period
Week 3: Heian Painting
Week 4: Emakimono and Other Trends of the Late Heian and Kamakura periods
Week 5: Zen Painting; Shkoku-ji painters; Sesshu (1420-1506)
Week 6: Muromachi Ink Painting (continued); Screen Painting of the Momoyama Period
Week 7: Painting and Tea Taste in the Seventeenth Century; The Rimpa School
Week 8: Ukiyo-e
Week 9: Nanga and the Eccentrics
Week 10: The Realists; Prologue to the Modern Era

Required Textbook Reading

Textbooks available at SBX (on High Street):

• H. Paul Varley, Japanese Culture (Hawaii, 4rd edition)
• AKIYAMA Terukazu, Japanese Painting (Skira/Rizzoli)
• Additional reading will be assigned or recommended in books on reserve in the Fine Arts Library.

Week 1:	Akiyama, chapters 1 & 2	Varley, chapters 1 & 2
Week 2:	Akiyama, chapters 3 & 4	Varley, chapter 3
Week 3:	Akiyama, chapter 5	Varley, chapters 4 & 5
Week 4:	Akiyama, chapter 6
Week 5:	Paper, mid-term, and recommended reading
Week 6:	Akiyama, chapter 7	Varley, chapter 6
Week 7:	Akiyama, chapter 8	Varley chapter 7
Week 8:	Akiyama chapter 9	Varley chapter 8
Week 9:	Akiyama chapter 10
Week 10:	Review, term paper, and recommended reading

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History of Art 682

Course Requirements and Grading (for due dates, see below)

Your written work should demonstrate familiarity with all the paintings, facts, and concepts introduced in class, as well as facts and issues introduced in the textbooks and in any assigned reserve reading.  Study guides which list the paintings studied in each section will be handed out in class.

• Term paper topic due in class: Thursday, October 12 (5%, pass/fail)
  • During the first four weeks of the course, you should begin research to formulate your term paper topic. The topic you have chosen should be presented to the instructor in a brief typed statement (one paragraph is enough), along with a preliminary bibliography of resources you have found. At the time you hand in your topic, you should already have most of your essential research materials in hand. Your statement of topic must be turned in on time and will be graded pass/fail.
    
• Mid-term examination in two parts:
  • a. In-class slide examination in which you will be asked to identify the artist or school, date, and subject matter of the work of art illustrated, and then to comment briefly on the significance of the style or subject matter of the work to the development of Japanese painting. Some of these will be identifications of single paintings; others will be in the compare and contrast format. (20%)
  • b. Take-home essay question, not to exceed five pages in length, in which you will be required to analyze, based on visual criteria, one or more Japanese paintings.  Papers will be graded on the effectiveness of the your arguments and use of examples from class material to support your conclusions (20%)
    
• Term Paper (30%):
  • A paper of roughly ten to fifteen pages is to be written on a subject you chose in consultation with the instructor.  You are expected to develop an issue related to the course material. Typical examples include studies of a single painting, conclusions about a particular aspect of a single artist's work, or a carefully delimited discussion about the development of a particular type of subject matter.  The grade will be based on clarity of presentation and effectiveness of data presented in supporting your conclusions.
    
• Test Two (25%):
  • a. Slide identifications selected from the second half of the course (in the same format as the mid-term)
  • b. one or more essay questions which will examine your capacity to synthesize themes and issues of the course

Due Dates for Required Written Work

• Term paper topic due in class: Thursday, October 12 (5%, pass/fail)
• Mid-term quiz (in class): Tuesday, October 24 (20%)
• Mid-term essay assignment (3-5 pages): due in class: Tuesday, October 31 (20%)
• Thanksgiving Holiday, Thursday, November 23, No Class
• Term paper (10-15 pages) due: Tuesday, November 28 (30%)
• Test Two: Thursday, November 30 (25%)