Winter+Landscape




 * Identification

Title**: //Winter Landscape// (formerly"Streams and Mountains after Snow"): Ink on Silk Scroll from Yuan Dynasty Artist: Unknown Date: about 1200-1300 Period: Southern Song (1127-1279) or Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) Origins: China Cultural/Ethnic Affiliation: Han Chinese Dimensions: Painting: 21 11/16 x 189 1/4 in. (55.1 x 480.7 cm) Scroll: 22 3/16 x 400 3/16 in. (56.4 x 1017.2 cm) Medium: Ink on silk Museum: Toledo Museum of Art Accession number: 1927.151 Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

The Chinese are well known for their landscape paintings, focusing on the larger whole. Little dots depict travelers in the scroll amidst large towering mountains, deep valleys, streams, and seas. The depiction of small human figures also gives an indication of scale to the painting as well as enticing the viewers to take a journey through the undulating landscape. Winter Landscape is a Chinese scroll painting that is typical of this genre. It allows the viewer to vicariously meander through the painting, as well as to experience the moment first hand.
 * Introduction**

The Toledo Museum of Art acquired //Winter Landscape// through a trade agreement with the city of Shanghai in 1927. It was exhibited in London at the Royal Academy of Arts during the International Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1935. In 1939, //Winter Landscape// was displayed in San Francisco during Golden Gate International Exhibition of Fine Arts. During Chinese Landscape Painting exhibition in 1954, it was displayed in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Later, it found it's way to Ann Arbor in 1962 and attracted public attention when it was a part of the Chinese Art exhibition held at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (documentation records of //Winter Landscape// from the Toledo Museum of Art). It later become published in //Toledo Treasures// in 1995.

This delicate hand scroll is in good shape considering its origin and impressive history. Having its own place in the gallery and being under constant care, the painting remains intact after nearly 900 years, however, those years can still be seen when looking upon its faded, light brown silk.


 * Descriptive Analysis**

//Winter Landscape// has found its home in the Toledo Art Museum in the Asian Art Gallery (29A). It is tucked away in a dark room, where the faint lights turn on only as someone enters, to prevent the damage which prolonged light exposure could do to the already darkening silk scroll. This magnificent ink on silk handscroll measures nearly 35 feet across when completely unrolled. The scroll is laid out horizontally which allows for a panoramic view of the vast landscape. Even though the scroll is laid out in its entirety, it is meant to be viewed in sections. As one looks closer at the individual sections, different parts of the landscape begin to come forth: the travelers and the villagers, who are scattered throughout the bottom of the landscape, the trees with their buds awaiting the arrival of spring, the snow covered mountains and hills, and the vast winter sky.

On the far left section of the scroll, next to the paining itself, there are two large passages of calligraphy. Twenty three red seals are located around the perimeter of the scroll (on the upper right, bottom right, bottom left, and the upper left sections). "Of the 23 seals, the earliest genuine ones are those of the painters and the collectors: Yuan Shu (active first half of the 17th century) and Zhan Shu Xiu (active 18th century). There are also two apocryphal seals of the Song Emperor Hui Zong" (documentation records of //Winter Landscape// from the Toledo Museum of Art). The //Winter Landscape// painting takes the viewer through many various types of landscapes. The viewer begins his/her journey in the high mountains where the cliffs appear to have sharp jagged edges. At this point, the scroll appears as if divided horizontally into two sections where the top portion is being perceived very distant and misty, while the middle and lower portions are being perceived as closer to the viewer and provide an abundance of details. In the misty background, the mountains appear washed out with ink. The middle ground appears very clear. There are waterfalls and trees, and, as the viewer moves right, other details appear: bridges, houses, and villagers. While moving from left to right, the landscape slowly flattens, and lakes and snowy plateaus replace the barren section in the middle of the scroll. The scroll ends with a lake or river leading to the shore where the landscape quickly rises to the mountains. There is a flock of birds flying over the lake, and the trees in this last section seem to be very much in the foreground, as they appear large with numerous looming branches.

The people at the bottom edge of the landscape are depicted doing their everyday tasks. Every person has a different gesture, and all of the people appear to be traveling. There are rural people who have carts hauled by oxen traveling uphill, and people on horseback who have a regal stature. One of the people appears to be carrying a baby. There are two boats on the lake: one has a passenger and another has livestock. Both boats have drivers who are wearing typical Chinese hats. All of the depicted human figures seem to have a distinct purpose within the landscape, even though in some places the villagers seem disproportionate to the large landscape.

Formal and Contextual Analysis
Although //Winter Landscape// is displayed in its entirety at the Toledo Art Museum, Chinese handscrolls are typically meant to be viewed one section at a time. The usual viewing of the handscroll is a careful ceremony: from the gentle removal of the scroll from its wooden box, to removing its silk wrappings, to the unrolling one section at a time, to admiring its gracefully rendered scenes. //Winter Landscape// is a horizontal composition detailing a frozen landscape that takes the viewer on the journey through "time and space, with each segment symbolizing a fragment of eternity" (Swenson et al.,1995, p.54). Like the figural elements, the viewer should feel small and insignificant—lost in the vastness of the scenery. Yet, the viewer will also get a chance to feel invigorated by "an imaginary journey through nature that would nourish and refresh his spirit" (Swenson et al.,1995, p.54).

Like other Chinese landscape paintings, //Winter Landscape// is not supposed to be a realistic portrayal of an actual location but the essence of a place. This is made obvious by the use of several perspectives, similar to what one would witness while traveling in person. Along with the multi-point perspective, the painting takes on a multi-time perspective, showing an imaginary instance between winter and spring where both snow and budding trees exist.

The fine lines and detailed brush strokes suggest that the painting is done in the [|gongbi] (fine line) style of brushwork. The whole painting appears to be done using calligraphy brushes and ink washes. There is some fine brushwork used to create the villages and details of trees, houses, and villagers. The textured strokes are a compliment to the origins of calligraphy, which expresses the pride Chinese people take in their written language. Over these bold ink strokes smaller strokes are placed giving a contrast from one object to another. Although the silk is now browned with age, our mind uses [|gestalt] so that we can imagine those unoccupied spaces on the silk scroll as being filled with snow, mist, or water.

The unknown artist who created this scroll worked in the fashion of the Northern Song style. [|The Song dynasty](960-1279) was a time of tremendous social and economic change in imperial China. Artists seeking order after the turmoil and destruction that occurred at the end of the Tang dynasty (618-906) retreated deep into the foothills of China and found that nature was the answer they sought. Surrounding themselves with mountains, trees, and flora they were able to translate the perfection they saw into the massive landscape paintings that grew into one of China’s artistic traditions.

Philosophically, //Winter Landscape// takes on aspects of both [|Neo-Confucianism] and [|Daoism]. In terms of Neo-Confucianism, which concerns with application of human relationships to nature, the artist portrays humans small and the world around them mighty, making them simply a minor extension of the natural order. In terms of Daoism, //Winter Landscape//’s light-and-dark scheme and portrayal of winter and spring co-existing could be examples of the concept of //yin// and //yang//. Always in balance, the two opposing forces complement each other, giving unity in their duality.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols ruled over China. As such, many Han Chinese painters were forced to take a side: to serve the Mongols in office or reject them and make art on their own. While the painter of //Winter Landscape// is unknown, it follows a trend of Yuan paintings where the artist harkens back stylistically to an earlier time. In this case, //Winter Landscape// is highly reminiscent of the works of the Northern Song painter Guo Xi (1023-1085), who created works such as //Early Spring// (below)//.// Some suggest that Yuan painters’ nostalgia for previous styles was their way of reminding viewers of the “good old days” before the Mongols took over.

Of particular interest is prevalence of the Northern Song style of landscape painting within the Yuan Dynasty, over the Southern Song style. The reasoning behind this preference can be inferred from the length of time that it required the Mongols to complete their conquest of Southern China. The ability for Southern China to hold out against a Mongol invasion had social and cultural ramifications once the Yuan Dynasty was established. The most obvious consequence was the subsequent treatment of Southern Chinese culture as inferior, or more simply with indifference and neglect. The end result was the elevation by default of Northern Song landscapes as the preferred style in which Yuan Dynasty artists worked, and expressed themselves.

It should also be noted that copying previous artists was not frowned upon in Chinese culture, in which the art student "copied great works as a part of his training, while the great masters copied paintings for their own collections" (Davidson, 19). This accepted form of copying has led to the comparison of Chinese artists to musicians, who "rarely invents new forms, but continually reinterprets the old" (Davidson, 19). According to the sixth of the Six Methods of Xie He, copying, or //chuanmo yixie//, is the means of preserving great art and continuing tradition. Xie He was a 5th Century Chinese art critic who created Six Canons to which Chinese painters were judged. The Six Canons are as follows: Heavenly inspiration, Structural method in use of the brush, Fidelity to the object for portraying forms, Conformity to kind in applying colors, Proper planning in the placing of elements, and Transmission of the past through making copies (Toledo Art Museum). As a //fang//, or inspired copy, //Winter Landscape// would have been seen as equal rather than inferior to its inspiration.



In addition to //Early Spring//, another example of a Chinese landscape rendered in the same style includes //The Rivers Xiao and Xiang//. Painted during the late Southern [|Tang Dynasty] (937-975) by Dong Yuan, it was created during a period which "witnessed the maturing of the landscape painting" (Palace Museum, 2009). And although this work was created roughly three hundred years prior to //Winter Landscape//, it is considered a fine example of what would be commonly referred to as the southern school of landscape painting. In addition, //Xiao and Xiang// shares some subtle, but important similarities to //Winter Landscape//, including the use of empty, or incomplete, areas to give the impression of mistiness, and/or indistinct landscape. In addition, and curiously similar to //Winter Landscape//, the work shows no artist signature, or artist seals, although ownership seals are prevalent, even though in this case the artist is recognized as Dong Yuan.



An example of how landscape painting evolved in the Yuan Dynasty can be found in //Twin Pines, Level Distance// (below), painted by Zhao Mengfu in circa 1300. Zhao Mengfu, considered one of the great calligraphers of the period (Landscape Painting, 2009), transformed the Northern landscape style by Guo Xi into a work that expressed the energy of the subject matter, as opposed to the long journey between different sections of the scroll emphasizing essence. In addition, instead of a poem, or a simple signature, ornamenting the left panel of the work, the artist has taken the opportunity to include a treatise on his own [|views of painting], a feature which is not evident in the other examples given. It is also differs in tha the medium used which is ink on paper, as opposed to ink on silk. And while the use of ink on paper is not unique to landscape painting, it can be seen as a natural medium for an artist considered to be "a leading calligrapher of his time" (Yuan Dynasty, 2009).




 * Bibliography**

Buckley Ebrey, Patricia. //A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization//. "Guo Xi's Early Spring". University of Washington, UW Departments Web Server. http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/4lndguox.htm (accessed February 15, 2009). This website provides a description and a closer look at Guo Xi's //Early Spring// with image details.

Buckley Ebrey, Patricia. //A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization.// "Nothern Song Landscape Painting" University of Washington, UW Departments Web Server. http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/4ptgnsla.htm#4lndguox (accessed Februrary 15, 2009). This website provides a closer look at Northern Song Landscape Painting.

Buckley Ebrey, Patricia. //A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization.// "Yuan Landscape Painting." University of Washington, UW Departments Web Server. http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/tptgyula.htm (accessed November 20, 2008). This website examines Yuan Landscape Painting.

Davidson, J. Leroy. (1936) "A Stylistic Change in Sung and Yuan Landscape Painting" //Parnassus// 8(6) 19-21. An article briefly outlining change between Sung and Yuan Dynasty period landscapes. Also has explanation of process of copying from one artist to another.

Delbanco, Dawn. "Chinese Hand Scrolls." http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chhs/hd_chhs.htm (accessed January 15, 2009). This website describes and shows examples of Chinese Hand Scrolls.

Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Landscape Painting in Chinese Art"[|__http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/clpg/hd_clpg.htm__] (accessed February 5, 2009). This website shows examples and history of Northern Song Dynasty artworks.

Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Northern Song Dynasty (960-127)." https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nsong/hd_nsong.htm (accessed January 15, 2009). This website shows The Metropolitan Museum of Art's description and art from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)"[| http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yuan/hd_yuan.htm] (accessed February 5, 2009). This sub-site of the Metropolitan Museum of Art details some of the Yuan Dynasty's works and styles.

Gascoigne, Bamber. //The Dynasties and Treasures of China//. New York: The Viking Press, 1973.

McNair, Amy with Singer, Jane Casey. "Scroll" Oxford Art Online. http://www.oxfordartonline.com.research.aadl.org/subscriber/article/grove/art/T077209 (accessed January 16, 2009).

Michaelson, Carol. "Yuan Dynasty." Oxford Art Online. http://www.oxfordartonline.com.research.aadl.org/subscriber/article/grove/art/T093035 (accessed January 14, 2009)

Smith, Bradley and Wan-go Weng. //China- A History in Art//. New York: Harper and Row Publishers.

Sullivan,Michael. //Arts of China.// Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000.

Swenson, Christine; Nichols, Lawrence W.; Gerstein, Marc S.; Phillips, Robert F.; Berkowitz, Roger M. //Toledo Treasures: Selections from the Toledo Museum of Art.// New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1995 This book provides a short history of the Toledo Museum of Art and an overview of the 129 works of art from its collection including //Winter Landscape//.

Toledo Museum of Art. Website. [|http://www.toledomuseum.org] (accessed November 20, 2008). The site has the image of the Chinese scroll //Winter Landscape// with the brief commentary as well as many other images of the artworks from the Toledo Museum of Art.

Treagar, Mary. //Chinese Art.// //Thames & Hudson World of Art.// New York: Thames & Hudson, 1985.

Vollmer, John E. "China, §XII: Textiles." Oxford Art Online. http://www.oxfordartonline.com.research.aadl.org/subscriber/article/grove/art/T016513pg31 (accessed January 17, 2009).

_ Lesson Plan


 * Title:** Winter Landscape
 * Grade Level**: 9th – 12th grade
 * Time**: 3 class periods (50 minutes each)
 * Standards:**

//This lesson meets the following National Standards for Arts Education:// VA 9-12.1 Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes (Proficient 2) VA 9-12.2 Using knowledge of structures and functions (Proficient 1 & 2) VA 9-12.3 Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas (Proficient 1 & 2)

//National Educational Technology Standards for Students:// 1. Creativity and Innovation (a & b) 3. Research and Information Fluency (b) 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making (b) 5. Digital Citizenship (a & b)

- Elements of the Chinese landscape including nature, combination of scenes, philosophy, and artistic techniques used. - When viewing a hand scrolls is supposed to be unrolled from scene to scene, allowing the viewer to travel the landscape with their eyes. - Chinese landscape painting is not a realistic portrayal of an actual location but the essence of a place.
 * Significant Key Concepts**

1. Introduce the concept of //Winter Landscape// by having student review information on on the TeachArt Wiki website at http://teachartwiki.wikispaces.com/Winter+Landscape
 * Teaching and Learning Activities**

2. Have students investigate information from other sites. [|Explore the British Museum] [|Landscape Painting in Chinese Art] [|Chinese Painting] [|Landscape Painting]

3. Ask questions to get students thinking: - What types of landscape are portrayed in Chinese landscape paintings? - What mediums are used? - Who viewed these landscape paintings and why? - Why do the Chinese landscape paintings portray the essence of place instead of an actual place? What is the essence of a place? - How many viewpoints are in a Chinese landscape painting? Can you identify them? - How many viewpoints are in a Western landscape painting? Can you identify them? - Why do Chinese and Western artists use the same or different perspective system to portray the nature? Do they have the same or different philosophy behind their method?

4. Show students the Chinese characters for landscape, which mean “mountains and water.” Have them repeat the Chinese word for landscape, shanshui (pronounced “shan shway”). Ask them to begin thinking about their favorite travel scenery that incorporates mountains or water.

5. Explain that students will collaboratively create their own 25 foot handscroll.Have each student research a landscape portrait or photograph online which contains mountains, water, or both. Remind them that they will not be copying these examples, but using them as inspiration for nature; make sure the essence of a scene is portrayed. Allow students to begin sketching ideas for their scene.

6. When students have their idea ready, have each presents his/her scene. The class will then collectively decide how to arrange each individual scene so that the transition from one scene to the next is natural and creates delight to the viewers whose eyes will travel through the landscape. After each student is assigned a space on the scroll for them to work, they will begin their painting by following the steps below: a. Students will use pencil to very lightly outline their scene. b. They will work together to make sure the landscape flow from right to left c. The teacher will first demonstrate Chinese painting techniques and/or show Chinese painting techniques using YouTube videos (such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S47vfJ9g3Mw) d. The students will first use smaller, pointed watercolor brush to outline the landscape e. They will use different gradations of gray by mixing black with water to portray the variations in the landscape f. After the ink is partially dry, lightly color the landscape and add fine details such as leaves, branches, or characters using fine brushes with darker black ink.

Have each student reflect on this Chinese landscape painting experience in their journals by writing 2 haiku's about their landscape. Then, have them answer the following questions: - What type of landscape did you portray? - Who did you have in mind as a viewer when you created your landscape? - What makes your scene unique? - How did you feel you were able to portray the essence of a scene?
 * Assessment**

Research - Students used research time wisely and effectively, visiting pertinent sites. //5 points// Collaboration - Students made sure to consider the landscape choices of their neighbor and worked together to make sure the landscape flowed naturally from one scene to the next. //5 points// Project - Students used space effectively and grasped the concept of “essence of scene.” //15 points// Written Journal - Students wrote a meaningful haiku based on their landscape, and thoughtfully answered all response prompts. //10 points// Total //35 points//
 * Rubric**

Sources Wikispaces [|Chinese Paintings Landscape Information. Chinese Art at the Gallery of China] [|British Museum – Mountains and Water: Chinese Landscape Painting]