1279: Song dynasty fell to Mongol invaders, who ruled China for 90 years under the dynasty name Yuan

China became part of the vast Mongol empire

For Chinese intellectuals, it seemed to be a government of occupation

Mongol warriors (medieval manuscript illustration)

Court patronage of art mainly limited to the Mongolian traditional arts (textiles, jewelry, metalwork, etc.)

Outside the court, cultural creativity in several of the arts, including drama, calligraphy, and painting

Loss of traditional court patronage set the stage for rise of scholar-amateurs (literati) to the center of the painting world

Literati

Professionals

Sparing or no use of washes

Sometimes outline also abandoned

Abandoned one-corner, asymmetrical compositions

Intense study of old masters

Preoccupation with style; self-referential

Poetry, painting, and calligraphy often linked

Two trends: naturalism and expressionism

Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), greatest artist of the early Yuan period

Related to the Song royal family; because of his elite connections and status, was recruited to serve in the Mongol government; the invitation created a deep personal moral conflict regarding loyalty and honor

Hidden symbolism and political commentary

Composition (vs. Southern Song)

Spatial organization (continuous)

Color palette (cf. Tang dynasty)

Brushwork (cf. calligraphy; vs. Song landscape painting)

Abandonment of asymmetrical compositions

Refers to old masters, especially of the Tang dynasty

Poetry or other text, painting, and calligraphy linked

Naturalism and expressionism are parallel elements

Ni Zan (1301-1374), one of the "Four Masters" of the late Yuan dynasty

Depicts a scholar’s retreat/studio on his estate (in the foreground)

Inscription (text and calligraphy) by the artist

Wang Meng (1308-1385), one of the "Four Masters" of the late Yuan period

Subject is a scholar’s retreat in the mountains

Inscription (text and calligraphy) by the artist

Upheavals in politics and society deeply affect the art world

While professional artists continue to fill a small niche, literati painting becomes the most influential style

Long-lasting, stable period under native rule

Court academy re-established

China is dominant power in world trade

Zhe School (Style)

Independent professional painters

Wu School (Style)

[Court Artists]

Professional painters centered in Zhejiang Province, near Hangzhou (the old Southern Song capital)

Revitalized Southern Song academy styles

Style

Artist Dai Jin (1388-1462)

Born into a family of craftsmen

Gained an appointment as a court painter during the reign of the second Ming emperor

A versatile painter who found roots in diverse sources, such as Southern Song academy and Yuan literati styles

Responsible for the establishment of the Southern Song academy style as the official Ming court style

Style shows its Southern Song sources:

Professional painters who stand between the Zhe School painters and the literati painters

Many active in the Suzhou area, a center of wealth and private patronage

Style

Artist Zhou Chen (active early 16^th c.)

Leading Suzhou professional painter

Specialty was polished figure-in-landscape painting emulating the court painters

Painter of breadth and originality, especially in narrative and genre subjects

Handscroll with over 20 figures

Innovative subject: full spectrum of the urban street

Sketchy, direct, expressionistic, documentary

Interpreted as political commentary

Artist Tang Yin (1470-1523)

Pupil of Zhou Chen

Prodigy in scholarship and the arts

Became embroiled in a cheating scandal at the national examinations

Returned home, forced to live on his wits and his connections

Responded to the urban marketplace for art

Recreates the monumental Northern Song compositions of Fan Kuan and others

Inscribed with the artist’s adaptation of a Tang dynasty poem that had inspired a famous Song dynasty painter

Poem provides a narrative focus

Brushwork indicates the artist’s interest in Southern Song academy as well as Yuan dynasty literati styles

Scholar-artists active in the Suzhou area (Wu)

Practiced painting as a means of personal expression

Style

Artist Shen Zhou (1427-1509)

Typical of Suzhou educated amateur artist

Independently wealthy: free to pursue literature and art

Subjects were mostly familiar scenic and historic places

Often worked in multi-leaf albums devoted to a single theme

Theme of this album concerns departure and return (reflecting importance of travel, sociability, and long separations to elite lifestyles)

White clouds like a belt encircle the mountain’s waist

A stone ledge flying into space and the far thin road

I lean alone on my bramble staff and gazing contented into space

Wish the sounding torrent would answer to your flute

Artist Dong Qichang (1555-1636)

Dominant figure in the late Ming

Leading calligrapher and authority on painting

Extremely influential

Summary of his beliefs

Advent of another foreign government was less disruptive to political and cultural life

Manchu rulers devoted themselves to understanding and absorbing Chinese culture

Orthodox School

Individualists

Artist Wang Jian (1598-1677), one of the four major artists of the Orthodox style

Most were high officials or wealthy collectors who had direct access to original Song and Yuan paintings

Artist Yuan-Ji (1641-1707)

Ming imperial relative who was one of the "Ming loyalists" opposed to Manchu rule

Began a wandering life as a Buddhist monk and artist

Advocated a style that opposed the art-historical Orthodox School

Challenged traditions and rules

Fresh colors

Unstructured ink effects

Unconventional composition and brushwork