The Art of Chinese and Japanese Sumi-e Painting

1. The Art of Chinese and Japanese Sumi-e Painting Westwood Regional Highschool Painting I-IV Mrs. Duffus 2009-2010

2. Sumi-e (East Asian Brush Painting)

3. Started in China, and then in Korea and Japan…..

4. Tools • “The Four Treasures” • Brush • Ink • Ink stone • Paper

5. “Sumi” = ink “-e” = painting

11. Based on nature As few strokes as possible Created By: Linda Welling Editied By: Thomas Field

12. 6 principles of Sumi Painting • Capture Chi- vital energy • Create natural forms and structure with brush technique • Color can differ from object • Depict object according to nature • Composition • 2/3 space, 1/3 form • No parallel lines • Overlap and create variations in stroke • Oblong paper • Develop own style

13. Subject matter of Sumi Painting • Poultry • Birds • Fish • Shrimp • Bamboo • Butterflies • Bees • Seasonal landscapes

14. Sumi`e Painting & The Four Gentlemen Learning to master sumi`e brushstrokes and transform them into graceful forms of nature. These plants embody the virtues of modesty, loyalty, purity, and integrity. Linda Miller 2006

15. The Four Gentlemen Japanese Sumi`e Painting Techniques, Examples

16. The Four Gentlemen • The Four Gentlemen are the four plants that are needed to be mastered in order to become a master sumi`e painter.To master each plant takes years of study under excellent tutelage. • They are called the Four Gentlemen because of their style and grace. • Each plant has certain brush strokes needed to complete it in the sumi`e style. As you complete each plant you build on the brush strokes mastered, and learn new techniques for the next, more complicated plant. • These brushstrokes are already familiar to you. • As we have learned, the Japanese style of painting creates asymmetrical balance, thus creating empty space, and simplicity. • The Four Gentlemen are bamboo, the wild orchid, the chrysanthemum, and the plum blossom branch.

17. The Four Gentleman

18. Bamboo The First Gentleman The Father of brush painting, representing simplicity of life and humble spirit. Bamboo represents Summer and is the most painted subject in East Asia. It represents strength in the face of adversity, and what the Japanese believe to be the virtues of the male - perfect balance, upright integrity, and tremendous flexibility. Bamboo is the “perfect gentleman” because at its center it is hollow, which suggests modesty, and it is always of service and used on a daily basis.

19. Real and Sumi`e Bamboo • www,junglephotos.com/africa/ www.susanwagnerglass.com • Bamboo grows in sections and from each section grows new branches and leaves. • Look and find the simple strokes, and see how the lifting of the brush tip creates the leaves.

20. Bamboo • Bamboo is the first of the Four Gentlemen because it employs basic brush techniques. It allows the painter to express most anything in nature. • By pulling the brush and lifting, you can build the sections of the bamboo stalk. The tip of the brush is then used to accent the breaks in the growth. • The leaves are drawn by placing the tip down, applying pressure to the brush while pulling, and then lifting up to thin the outer tip of the leaf. • Additional branches are painted the same way but smaller in size and from the growth joints

21. Professional Bamboo Examples

22. Professional Sumi`e Bamboo

23. The Wild Orchid The Second Gentleman The Mother of brush painting, representing grace, beauty, and a happy spirit. The wild orchid represents Spring and what the Japanese believe to be feminine virtues - beauty and grace, yet fragile and gentle. The orchid invites you to celebrate life because it symbolizes reviving earth’s energy from the winter.

24. Real and Sumi`e Wild Orchids • There are a variety of orchids available but the ones we will focus on are the orchids that have the long fluid leaves and small, fragile petals.

25. Wild Orchid • The wild orchid uses the same basic stroke that is used to make most grasses. • The techniques used in creating the wild orchid build on the techniques of the bamboo and its leaves, while the flow of your lines will teach you steadiness and versatility. • To create the beauty of the turning leaves and the gentle petals, we will employ different ways of lifting and turning our brush. • Cleaning the brush and adding a touch of sumi on the tip to change the value of the leaves, truly adding a new dimension to your painting.

26. Professional Wild Orchid Examples

27. Professional Sumi`e Orchids

28. The Chrysanthemum The Third Gentleman The chrysanthemum is the imperial symbol of Japan’s royal family. The chrysanthemum represents Autumn because it is sturdy and it defies the brutality of the frost. It associates fragrant plants with being strong and unwavering with the change of the season.

29. Real and Sumi`e Chrysanthemum Found at Naturgraphics.org • In the chrysanthemum, simplicity is used in such a way that it becomes more complex or intricate. • There are many different varieties of chrysanthemums, each with it’s own beauty.

30. Chrysanthemum • The chrysanthemum is the third of the Four Gentlemen and it builds upon the brush strokes already learned in the previous Gentlemen. • Layering and moving the gentle petals in different directions creates the inner beauty and complexity that is the flower. • Adding water to the brush or less sumi can create beautiful variations in your flowers’ texture and beauty.

31. Professional Chrysanthemums

32. Professional ChrysanthemumCourtesy Nan Rae

33. The Plum Blossom Branch The Last of the Four Gentlemen The plum blossom is the symbol of hope and endurance. It represents winter because it perseveres with life and beauty within it. The plum blossoms are the first to bloom, signaling the end of winter. The beauty of the plum blossom lies in the contrast of the gnarled, rough trunk and the soft, tender blooms.

34. Real and Sumi`e Plum Blossom Branch

35. Plum Blossom Branch • The Plum Blossom Branch is the last and most complicated of the Four Gentlemen. • This plant incorporates all the strokes the artist has built on and takes it just a step or two further. • The addition of creating the textured, gnarled branches takes some practice, as well as manipulating the very tip of your brush to create the very center of your blossoms. • The texture in the branch, the delicate flowers, pistols and stamens, they all take advantage of the knowledge you have learned with the previous three Gentlemen.

36. Professional Plum Blossom Branches

37. Professional Plum Blossom Branches

38. The Four Gentlemen Project Using your prior knowledge and additional practice, each student will create a sumi`e painting of with two of their favorite Gentleman.

39. Credits Music by Steven Pasero Professional Art Work courtesy of Susan WagnerGlass ASIJ High School Kodomon Inc Korean Arts.com Falun Gong practioner at Chongyang Festival Tietracks.com Nature Graphics Majka Broulik Silver Dragon Studio Carol Chaplin The Oriental Caravan The Sumi’e Book, by Yolanda Mavhall

40. End Linda Miller Art Educator, 14 years Gordon-Bibb and Benjamin Davis Magnet Elementary Schools Decatur, Alabama35601

41. Su Dongpo (1036-1101) • Influential during Song Dynasty • Talents and abilities were displayed in tightly composed images, but they lacked sincerity • Literati- Scholars , but amateur painters • Paintings were religious and philosophical • Changed aesthetics of Chinese Painting • Interesting story Su Dongpo in Straw Hat and Wooden Shoes, Muromachi period (1392–1573), second half of 15th century, Japan, Artist UnknownHanging scroll; ink on paper 42 3/4 x 13 1/8 in. (108.6 x 33.3 cm) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/eaj/ho_1975.268.39.htm

42. Wu Zhen(1280-1354) Bamboo in the Winds Yuan DynastyHanging scroll; ink on paper 109.0 x 32.6 cm (43 x 13 in.) Collection of Freer Gallery http://www.chinapage.com/painting/wuzhen01.html

43. Xia Chang (Chinese, 1388–1470) Bamboo in Wind, Ming dynasty, ca. 1460ChinaHanging scroll; ink on paper 80 1/4 x 23 1/2 in. (203.8 x 59.7 cm) • Use of calligraphy established by Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322) • Bamboo is a symbol of integrity and strength http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ming/ho_1989.235.1.htm

44. Attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu (Japanese, 1434–1535) Bamboo in the Four Seasons, Muromachi period (1392–1573)Pair of six-panel folding screens; color, ink, and gold on paper 68 5/8 x 150 1/4 in. (174.3 x 381.6 cm) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/seim/ho_1975.268.44,45.htm

45. Dong Qichang (Chinese, 1555–1636) Landscapes, dated 1630Album of eight paintings; ink on paper 9 5/8 x 6 5/16 in. (24.4 x 16 cm) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ming/ho_1986.266.5.htm

46. Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754–1799) Landscape and Chinese FiguresPair of six-panel folding screens; ink on gilded paper Each 67 3/8 x 146 3/4 in. (171.1 x 372.7 cm) JAPAN 1600-1800 - Timeline http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=09&region=eaj http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/09/eaj/ho_1975.268.75%2C76.htm

47. Huang Binhong (Chinese, 1864 - 1955) Landscape at Madangshan, ca. 1940sHanging scroll, ink and colors on paper39 x 13 1/4 in. (99.1 x 33.7 cm)R. T. Miller, Jr. Fund, 1994AMAM 1994.10 http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/Huang_Madangshang.htm#

48. Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891) Autumn Grasses in Moonlight, Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1872–91Two-panel folding screen; ink, lacquer, and silver leaf on paper 26 1/8 x 69 in. (66.4 x 175.3 cm) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/10/eaj/ho_1975.268.137.htm

49. Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891) Autumn Grasses in Moonlight, Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1872–91Two-panel folding screen; ink, lacquer, and silver leaf on paper 26 1/8 x 69 in. (66.4 x 175.3 cm) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/10/eaj/ho_1975.268.137.htm

50. Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/10/eaj/ho_1975.268.137.htm