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Epochs of Chinese & Japanese Art: An Outline History of East Asiatic Design
This book, originally published in 1913, is still regarded as the essential and definitive survey of eastern art. It explains the genre's progress over almost 5,000 years, with classifications of time and style periods.
872 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1911
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December 4, 2024Premise: I have only read the chapters on Chinese art.
This book is the result of a reorganization of Fenollosa’s notes on Chinese and Japanese art, covering the origins of these traditions through to the end of the 1700s. It was written in the late 1800s, during the last turbulent years of the Qing Empire. (Full disclaimer: there is an orientalist aesthetic throughout the work; however, the author was, from my understanding, anything but an orientalist in attitude.) The two volumes do an excellent job illustrating the main philosophical ideas that underpinned the development of various artistic movements and schools in East Asia. I particularly appreciated the author’s analysis of how other major centers of artistic production (such as Persia, Greece, and India) left a lasting impact on the spread of decorative patterns still seen today in East Asian art.
While it’s possible that some of the author’s observations have been surpassed by contemporary scholarly literature, these two volumes remain a concise, accessible, and enjoyable starting point for anyone new to the subject. The book is especially engaging due to the author’s willingness to share personal opinions on painters and scholars, which I found genuinely amusing. Most art history texts today have about the same level of humor as a vacuum cleaner manual, but this book maintains an entertaining and engaging tone throughout—an aspect I greatly appreciated, as it kept me invested in continuing through each chapter.
This book is the result of a reorganization of Fenollosa’s notes on Chinese and Japanese art, covering the origins of these traditions through to the end of the 1700s. It was written in the late 1800s, during the last turbulent years of the Qing Empire. (Full disclaimer: there is an orientalist aesthetic throughout the work; however, the author was, from my understanding, anything but an orientalist in attitude.) The two volumes do an excellent job illustrating the main philosophical ideas that underpinned the development of various artistic movements and schools in East Asia. I particularly appreciated the author’s analysis of how other major centers of artistic production (such as Persia, Greece, and India) left a lasting impact on the spread of decorative patterns still seen today in East Asian art.
While it’s possible that some of the author’s observations have been surpassed by contemporary scholarly literature, these two volumes remain a concise, accessible, and enjoyable starting point for anyone new to the subject. The book is especially engaging due to the author’s willingness to share personal opinions on painters and scholars, which I found genuinely amusing. Most art history texts today have about the same level of humor as a vacuum cleaner manual, but this book maintains an entertaining and engaging tone throughout—an aspect I greatly appreciated, as it kept me invested in continuing through each chapter.
Displaying 1 of 1 review