History of art
Periods and movements Prehistoric Ancient Medieval Pre-Romanesque Romanesque Gothic Renaissance Mannerism Baroque Rococo Neoclassicism Revivalism Romanticism Realism Pre-Raphaelites Modern Impressionism Symbolism Decorative Post-Impressionism Art Nouveau Fauvism Expressionism Cubism Contemporary Postmodern Conceptualism Pop Minimalism
Regions Art of the Middle East Mesopotamian Egyptian Hittite Persian Arabian South Arabian Phoenician Ottoman Art of Central Asia Art of East Asia Chinese Hong Kong Taiwan Japanese Korean Tibetan Art of South Asia Indian Bhutanese Newar Art of Southeast Asia Indonesian Filipino Vietnamese Thai Myanmar Malaysian Cambodian Khmer Lao Singaporean Bruneian Art of Europe Minoan Cycladic Etruscan Dacian Celtic Scythian Greek Hellenistic Iberian Roman Byzantine Anglo-Saxon Ottonian Viking Rus Art of Africa Igbo Yoruba Benin Kuba Luba Art of the Americas Pre-Columbian Maya Muisca Inuit Art of Oceania Australian Cook Islands Hawaiian Papuan
Religions Buddhist Christian Catholic Protestant Hindu Islamic Jain Manichaean Sikh Taoist Vodou Vodun
Techniques Sculpture Painting Pottery Calligraphy Architecture Photography Graphic arts Digital art
Types Abstract Art history Art movement List Figurative Funerary Naïve Narrative Naturalist
v t e

The history of Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent of Asia. The major regions of Asia include Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asia.

Central Asian art primarily consists of works by the Turkic peoples of the Eurasian Steppe, while East Asian art includes works from China, Japan, and Korea. South Asian art encompasses the arts of the Indian subcontinent, while Southeast Asian art includes the arts of Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. West Asian art encompasses the arts of the Near East, including the ancient art of Mesopotamia, and more recently becoming dominated by Islamic art.

In many ways, the history of art in Asia parallels the development of Western art.^[1][2] The art histories of Asia and Europe are greatly intertwined, with Asian art greatly influencing European art, and vice versa; the cultures mixed through methods such as the Silk Road transmission of art, the cultural exchange of the Age of Discovery and colonization, and through the internet and modern globalization.^[3][4][5]

Excluding prehistoric art, the art of Mesopotamia represents the oldest forms of art in Asia.

Upper Paleolithic Northeast Asia

The first modern human occupation in the difficult climates of Northeast Asia is dated to circa 40,000 ago, with the early Yana culture of northern Siberia dated to circa 31,000 BCE. By around 21,000 BCE, two main cultures developed: the Mal'ta culture and slightly later the Afontova Gora-Oshurkovo culture.^[6]

The Mal'ta culture culture, centered around at Mal'ta, at the Angara River, near Lake Baikal in Irkutsk Oblast, Southern Siberia, created some of the first works of art in the Upper Paleolithic period, with objects such as the Venus figurines of Mal'ta. These figures consist most often of mammoth ivory. The figures are about 23,000 years old and stem from the Gravettian. Most of these statuettes show stylized clothes. Quite often the face is depicted.^[7] The tradition of Upper Paleolithic portable statuettes being almost exclusively European, it has been suggested that Mal'ta had some kind of cultural and cultic connection with Europe during that time period, but this remains unsettled.^[6][8]

Central Asian art

Art in Central Asia is visual art created by the largely Turkic peoples of modern-day Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Tibet, Afghanistan, and Pakistan as well as parts of China and Russia.^[9][10] In recent centuries, art in the region has been greatly influenced by Islamic art. Earlier, Central Asian art was influenced by Chinese, Greek, and Persian art, via the Silk Road transmission of art.^[11]

Nomadic folk art

Nomadic Folk art serves as a vital aspect of Central Asian Art. The art reflects the core of the lifestyle of nomadic groups residing within the region. One is bound to be awestruck by the beauty of semi-precious stones, quilt, carved door, and embroidered carpets that this art reflects.^[12][13]

Music and musical instrument

Central Asia is enriched with the classical music and instruments. Some of the famous classical musical instruments were originated within the Central Asian region. Rubab, Dombra, and Chang are some of the musical instruments used in the musical arts of Central Asia.^[14]

The revival of Central Asian art

The lives of Central Asian people revolved around the nomadic lifestyle. Thereby most of the Central Asian arts in the modern times are also inspired by nomadic living showcasing the golden era. As a matter of fact, the touch of tradition and culture in Central Asian art acts as a major attraction factor for the international art forums. The global recognition towards the Central Asian Arts has certainly added up to its worth.^[15]

East Asian art

Chinese art

Chinese art (Chinese: 中國藝術/中国艺术) has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology. Different forms of art have been influenced by great philosophers, teachers, religious figures, and even political leaders. Chinese art encompasses fine arts, folk arts, and performance arts. Chinese art is art, whether modern or ancient, that originated from or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers.

In the Song dynasty, poetry was marked by a lyric poetry known as Ci (詞) which expressed feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona. Also in the Song dynasty, paintings of more subtle expressions of landscapes appeared, with blurred outlines and mountain contours which conveyed distance through an impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. It was during this period that in painting, emphasis was placed on spiritual rather than emotional elements, as in the previous period. Kunqu, the oldest extant form of Chinese opera developed during the Song dynasty in Kunshan, near present-day Shanghai. In the Yuan dynasty, painting by the Chinese painter Zhao Mengfu (趙孟頫) greatly influenced later Chinese landscape painting, and the Yuan dynasty opera became a variant of Chinese opera which continues today as Cantonese opera.

Chinese painting and calligraphy art

Chinese painting

Gongbi and Xieyi are two painting styles in Chinese painting.

Gongbi means "meticulous", the rich colours and details in the picture are its main features, its content mainly depicts portraits or narratives. Xieyi means 'freehand', its form is often exaggerated and unreal, with an emphasis on the author's emotional expression and usually used in depicting landscapes.^[16]

In addition to paper and silk, traditional paintings have also been done on the walls, such as the Mogao Grottoes in Gansu Province. The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes were built in the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). It consists of more than 700 caves, of which 492 caves have murals on the walls, totalling more than 45,000 square meters.^[17][18] The murals are very broad in content, include Buddha statues, paradise, angels, important historical events, and even donors. The painting styles in early caves received influence from India and the West. From the Tang dynasty (618–906 CE), the murals began to reflect the unique Chinese painting style.^[19]

Chinese Calligraphy

Chinese calligraphy can be traced back to the Dazhuan (large seal script) that appeared in the Zhou dynasty. After Emperor Qin unified China, Prime Minister Li Si collected and compiled Xiaozhuan (small seal) style as the new official text. The small seal script is very elegant but difficult to write quickly. In the Eastern Han dynasty, a type of script called the Lishu (Official Script) began to rise. Because it reveals no circles and very few curved lines, it is very suitable for fast writing. After that, the Kaishu style (traditional regular script) has appeared, and as its structure is simpler and neater, this script is still widely used today.^[20][21]

Ancient Chinese crafts

Jade

Early jade was used as an ornament or as sacrificial utensils. The earliest Chinese carved-jade object appeared in the Hemudu culture in the early Neolithic period (about 3500–2000 BCE). During the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE), Bi (circular perforated jade) and Cong (square jade tube) appeared, which were presumed to be sacrificial utensils, representing the sky and the earth. In the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE), due to the use of higher hardness engraving tools, jades were carved more delicately and began to be used as a pendant or ornament in clothing.^[22][23] Jade was considered to be immortal and could protect the owner, so carved-jade objects were often buried with the deceased, such as a jade burial suit from the tomb of Liu Sheng, a prince of the Western Han dynasty.^[23][24]

Porcelain

Porcelain is a kind of ceramic made from kaolin at high temperature. The earliest ceramics in China appeared in the Shang dynasty (c.1600–1046 BCE). And the production of ceramics laid the foundation for the invention of porcelain. The history of Chinese porcelain can be traced back to the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).^[25] In the Tang dynasty, porcelain was divided into celadon and white porcelain. In the Song dynasty, Jingdezhen was selected as the royal porcelain production centre and began to produce blue and white porcelain.^[26]

Modern Chinese art

After the end of the last feudal dynasty in China, with the rise of the new cultural movement, Chinese artists began to be influenced by Western art and began to integrate Western art into Chinese culture.^[27] Influenced by American jazz, Chinese composer Li Jinhui (Known as the father of Chinese pop music) began to create and promote popular music, which made a huge sensation.^[28] At the beginning of the 20th century, oil paintings were introduced to China, and more and more Chinese painters began to touch Western painting techniques and combine them with traditional Chinese painting.^[29] Meanwhile, a new form of painting, comics, had also begun to rise. It was popular with many people and became the most affordable way to entertain at the time.^[30]

Tibetan art

Tibetan art refers to the art of Tibet (Tibet Autonomous Region in China) and other present and former Himalayan kingdoms (Bhutan, Ladakh, Nepal, and Sikkim). Tibetan art is first and foremost a form of sacred art, reflecting the overriding influence of Tibetan Buddhism on these cultures. The Sand Mandala (Tib: kilkhor) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition which symbolises the transitory nature of things. As part of Buddhist canon, all things material are seen as transitory. A sand mandala is an example of this, being that once it has been built and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished, it is systematically destroyed.

As Mahayana Buddhism emerged as a separate school in the 4th century BC it emphasized the role of bodhisattvas, compassionate beings who forgo their personal escape to Nirvana in order to assist others. From an early time various bodhisattvas were also subjects of statuary art. Tibetan Buddhism, as an offspring of Mahayana Buddhism, inherited this tradition. But the additional dominating presence of the Vajrayana (or Buddhist tantra) may have had an overriding importance in the artistic culture. A common bodhisattva depicted in Tibetan art is the deity Chenrezig (Avalokitesvara), often portrayed as a thousand-armed saint with an eye in the middle of each hand, representing the all-seeing compassionate one who hears our requests. This deity can also be understood as a Yidam, or 'meditation Buddha' for Vajrayana practice.

Tibetan Buddhism contains Tantric Buddhism, also known as Vajrayana Buddhism for its common symbolism of the vajra, the diamond thunderbolt (known in Tibetan as the dorje). Most of the typical Tibetan Buddhist art can be seen as part of the practice of tantra. Vajrayana techniques incorporate many visualizations/imaginations during meditation, and most of the elaborate tantric art can be seen as aids to these visualizations; from representations of meditational deities (yidams) to mandalas and all kinds of ritual implements.

A visual aspect of Tantric Buddhism is the common representation of wrathful deities, often depicted with angry faces, circles of flame, or with the skulls of the dead. These images represent the Protectors (Skt. dharmapala) and their fearsome bearing belies their true compassionate nature. Actually, their wrath represents their dedication to the protection of the dharma teaching as well as to the protection of the specific tantric practices to prevent corruption or disruption of the practice. They are most importantly used as wrathful psychological aspects that can be used to conquer the negative attitudes of the practitioner.

Historians note that Chinese painting had a profound influence on Tibetan painting in general. Starting from the 14th and 15th century, Tibetan painting had incorporated many elements from the Chinese, and during the 18th century, Chinese painting had a deep and far-reaching impact on Tibetan visual art.^[31] According to Giuseppe Tucci, by the time of the Qing dynasty, "a new Tibetan art was then developed, which in a certain sense was a provincial echo of the Chinese 18th century's smooth ornate preciosity."^[31]

Japanese art

Japanese art and architecture include works of art produced in Japan from the beginnings of human habitation there, sometime in the 10th millennium BC, to the present. Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper, and a myriad of other types of works of art; from ancient times until the contemporary 21st century.

The art form rose to great popularity in the metropolitan culture of Edo (Tokyo) during the second half of the 17th century, originating with the single-color works of Hishikawa Moronobu in the 1670s. At first, only India ink was used, then some prints were manually colored with a brush, but in the 18th century Suzuki Harunobu developed the technique of polychrome printing to produce nishiki-e.

Japanese painting (絵画, Kaiga) is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese arts, encompassing a wide variety of genre and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the history of Japanese painting is a long history of synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of imported ideas.

The origins of painting in Japan date well back into Japan's prehistoric period. Simple stick figures and geometric designs can be found on Jōmon period pottery and Yayoi period (300 BC – 300 AD) dōtaku bronze bells. Mural paintings with both geometric and figurative designs have been found in numerous tumulus from the Kofun period (300–700 AD).

Ancient Japanese sculpture was mostly derived from the idol worship in Buddhism or animistic rites of Shinto deity. In particular, sculpture among all the arts came to be most firmly centered around Buddhism. Materials traditionally used were metal—especially bronze—and, more commonly, wood, often lacquered, gilded, or brightly painted. By the end of the Tokugawa period, such traditional sculpture – except for miniaturized works – had largely disappeared because of the loss of patronage by Buddhist temples and the nobility.

Ukiyo, meaning "floating world", refers to the impetuous young culture that bloomed in the urban centers of Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Osaka, and Kyoto that were a world unto themselves. It is an ironic allusion to the homophone term "Sorrowful World" (憂き世), the earthly plane of death and rebirth from which Buddhists sought release.

Korean art

Korean art is noted for its traditions in pottery, music, calligraphy, painting, sculpture, and other genres, often marked by the use of bold color, natural forms, precise shape and scale, and surface decoration.

While there are clear and distinguishing differences between three independent cultures, there are significant and historical similarities and interactions between the arts of Korea, China, and Japan.

The study and appreciation of Korean art is still at a formative stage in the West. Because of Korea's position between China and Japan, Korea was seen as a mere conduit of Chinese culture to Japan. However, recent scholars have begun to acknowledge Korea's own unique art, culture, and important role in not only transmitting Chinese culture but assimilating it and creating a unique culture of its own. An art given birth to and developed by a nation is its own art.

Generally, the history of Korean painting is dated to approximately 108 C.E., when it first appears as an independent form. Between that time and the paintings and frescoes that appear on the Goryeo dynasty tombs, there has been little research. Suffice to say that until the Joseon dynasty the primary influence was Chinese painting though done with Korean landscapes, facial features, Buddhist topics, and an emphasis on celestial observation in keeping with the rapid development of Korean astronomy.

Throughout the history of Korean painting, there has been a constant separation of monochromatic works of black brushwork on very often mulberry paper or silk; and the colourful folk art or min-hwa, ritual arts, tomb paintings, and festival arts which made extensive use of colour.

This distinction was often class-based: scholars, particularly in Confucian art, felt that one could see colour in monochromatic paintings within the gradations and felt that the actual use of colour coarsened the paintings, and restricted the imagination. Korean folk art, and painting of architectural frames was seen as brightening certain outside wood frames, and again within the tradition of Chinese architecture, and the early Buddhist influences of profuse rich thalo and primary colours inspired by the Art of India.

Contemporary art in Korea: The first example of Western-style oil painting in Korean art was in the self-portraits of Korean artist Ko Hu i-dong (1886–1965). Only three of these works still remain today. These self-portraits impart an understanding of the medium that extends well beyond the affirmation of stylistic and cultural difference. By the early twentieth century, the decision to paint using oil and canvas in Korea had two different interpretations. One being a sense of enlightenment due to western ideas and art styles. This enlightenment derived from an intellectual movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Ko had been painting with this method during a period of Japan's annexation of Korea. During this time many claimed his art could have been political, however, he himself stated he was an artist and not a politician. Ko stated, "While I was in Tokyo, a very curious thing happened. At that time there were fewer than one hundred Korean students in Tokyo. All of us were drinking the new air and embarking on new studies, but there were some who mocked my choice to study art. A close friend said that it was not right for me to study painting in such a time as this." ^[33]

Korean pottery was recognized as early as 6000 BCE. This pottery was also referred to as comb-patterned pottery due to the decorative lines carved onto the outside. Early Korean societies were mainly dependent on fishing. So, they used pottery to store fish and other things collected from the ocean such as shellfish. Pottery had two main regional distinctions. Those from the East coast tend to have a flat base, whereas pottery on the South coast had a round base.^[34]

South Asian art

Pakistani art

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