Title
Japanese Painting Circa 1500: A Time of Upheaval and Innovation
Abstract
This symposium explored the turn of the sixteenth century, which marked a significant inflection point in Japanese cultural history as the practices of painting became increasingly decentralized and diversified in the transition from the late medieval to early modern eras.
The talks in this symposium engaged a range of Japanese painting circa 1500, spanning different genres, stylistic traditions, and patronage contexts. Shimao Arata (Gakushūin University) addressed ink painting of the medieval period and explored its fate amidst the transition to the early modern era. Steffani Bennett (UW Madison) considered the pictorial and thematic transformations that unfolded in the genre of landscape painting by focusing on the motif of the Daoist Grotto Heaven. Yukio Lippit (Harvard University) offered a reassessment of one of Sesshū Tōyō’s (1420-ca.1506) most important works, Huike Offering his Severed Arm to Bodhidharma. Melissa McCormick (Harvard University) explored the patronage activities of the Asakura clan, particularly the role of Asakura women in cultural production. Gene Phillips (UW Madison) addressed the prominent Kano school of painters, focusing on Kano Motonobu’s (1476-1559) Illustrated Legends of Kurama Temple. Aaron Rio (Metropolitan Museum of Art) explored the circulation of Zen painting at the turn of the sixteenth century.
This symposium was sponsored by the Department of Art History, and co-sponsored by the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, Center for East Asian Studies, Center for Visual Cultures, and the Chazen Museum of Art. It was funded by the UW–Madison Anonymous Fund and the Joan B. Mirviss Fund.
Biography
Panelists:
Shimao Arata is professor of Japanese art history at Gakushūin University, Tokyo, and a specialist in Muromachi ink painting.
Steffani Bennett is Assistant Professor of Japanese Art, and the Joan B. Mirviss Chair in Japanese Art at UW Madison. Her specialization is in medieval painting.
Yukio Lippit is Jeffrey T. Chambers and Andrea Okamura Professor of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University.
Melissa McCormick is Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Japanese Art and Culture at Harvard University. She investigates the relationship of pictorial form to social history and contexts of artistic production.
Gene Phillips is Emeritus Professor in Japanese Art at UW Madison. He was the former Joan B. Mirviss Chair in Japanese Art.
Aaron Rio is Associate Curator of Japanese Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is a specialist of premodern Japanese painting.