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Online Museum Visit and Research Essay
In Asia, art is a fundamental part of their existence used to portray their history and existence. Artists use art to show their people’s way of life, their religion, and everything found in it. They use art to show elements of nature. In short, art is used to show every aspect of Asian people. If one wants to study the history of Asians successfully, then it is important to study the images and pieces of art produced in place. The discussion studies highlight key elements of two important works of Asians working in Asia.
The name of the image is “Winter Landscape,” the artist who created the image is Sesshu Toyo. The work is extremely beautiful, and the artist relies on black Sumi ink (Fan). The painting is gray in color. The artist also achieves high contrast through the use of darkest brushstrokes at the very far end of the image with other parts being in white, which were intentionally unpainted to achieve the results. Moreover, the achieved contrast is symbolically used (Dr. Asa). It represents the extremely cold and cruel weather characteristic of winter. There are also physical images such as hills and humans, which are painted using dense and dark. The artist explores the use of different values where gray, white and dark colors are used. Each of the colors communicates a profound message. The lines used are contrasted and bring the rich quality of the work. They are described as choppy and jagged. The ink is varied, with some lines drawn using light and others use heavy lines. The lines portray winter and how people behave with the figure of a hunched person achieved using the lines showing how people behave in the cold of winter.
The work’s cultural context is based on the ideology of Zen Buddhism, which was introduced and advanced by Bodhidharma. The belief advanced the need for looking for Enlightenment, which would allow one to escape the pain of reincarnation in a universe where individuals suffer. The use of mediation was important, and it was the only surety of reaching Enlightenment, according to Zen Buddhism (Fan). The monks of the period were motivated and undertook solitary journeys, explored new landscapes, and described them. The period had an element that served as an inspiration to artists called Wabi (Dr. Asa). It emphasizes the beauty of the place where people drink green powdered tea made with love. The work produced sought to inspire individuals to seek a greater experience of nature. Also, it enabled the artists to communicate the experience of nature to the public. According to Fan, the “Winter Landscape” image portrays nature and its beauty and evokes emotion in viewers through the image is painted and the content presented by the piece.
One can use Buddhism to interpret the work and what it means. The person who developed it was Siddhartha Gautama, who changed and embraced meditation and simplicity from his earlier executive life as a prince. Initially, the prince never left the place. However, one day he encountered four images of a man who was old, another sick man, another man who was suffering and an ascetic (Dr. Asa). His experience became the source of formulation of fundamental noble truths on life. “Life is about suffering; suffering is caused by the desire of worldly things and goals; desire can be eliminated; and the Noble Eightfold Path is the route to ending desire thereby ending suffering” (Dr. Asa). It advances an issue of morality, righteousness and wisdom, which automatically leads to Enlightenment.
The artist endeavored to pass an important message, the cardinal belief that one can escape suffering and pain through Buddhism in this world. Therefore, nature is metaphorically used to represent issues about the world and humans. One can see how the image is used to represent important issues of human existence, which are central to the culture of Asians. Through the use of art, Sesshu uses Winter Landscape to tell the history of his people.
The picture of “Winter Landscape” obtained from the online Japanese museum (Dr. Asa)
The artist for the St Francis Xavia is not known. The portrait is estimated to be a product of the 16th to 17th century. The image is drawn using watercolor, and the picture uses colors to show different aspects. Francis Xavia was on a mission to convert the Japanese people to Christianity. His knowledge of the Japanese language was minimal, and he could not converse with the people well (Vlam). His understanding of the Japanese religion, Buddhism, was vague; therefore, his mission became extremely difficult. However, studies done show he had a little influence that his mission helped people change their religion from Buddhism to Christianity. The people are approximated to be around three hundred thousand. It is important to note that the government banned Christianity in Japan and those affiliated with the Christian religion ended up killed.
The picture of Francis Xavia begins from the waist going all the way to the head. It is filled with details. According to Vlam there is the use of dark blue color for the background. His bodily features are in line with descriptions given by scholars (Takao). His eyes are facing upwards. There is a light complexion on his bodily feature, and there is the crucifix he is holding that is gold in color and the white clouds. Also, words are coming from his mouth SATISEST DNFSATISET which means it is enough, lord. The image is filled with details.
The image shows the devotion earlier Christians in Japanese had on Francis Xavier, owing he was the first person who brought the message of the Christian religion among the people (Vlam). Even though Christianity was later abolished and churches demolished, some people lived in hiding and were devoted to the gospel’s teachings.
The two images, “Winter Landscape” and “Francis Xavia, contrast with what they both communicate. While Sesschu uses nature to talk about Buddhism and its impact on the people’s lives, the portrait of “Francis Xavia” gives detail about the portrayal of Christianity among the Japanese. The colors and textures used are not the same, and the details in the picture are not equal. Sesschu uses black Sumi ink, while the portrait of Francis Xavia uses watercolor. In “Winter Landscape,” there is the use of lines to bring contrast, which is absent in Francis Xavia’s portrait.
The portrait of “Francis Xavia” (Vlam)
Works Cited
Dr. Asa Simon Mittman, “Nature: Spotlight. Sesshu Toyo’s Winter Landscape” in Smarthistory, August 3, 2019, accessed November 20, 2020.
Vlam, “The Portrait of S. Francis Xavier in Kobe, “pp.48-60.
Fan, Meng Ying. Zen as a Creative Agency: Picturing Landscape in China and Japan from the Twelfth to Sixteenth Centuries. Diss. 2020.
Takao, Makoto Harris. “‘In their own way’: contrafactal practices in Japanese Christian communities during the 16th century.” Early Music 47.2 (2019): 183-198.