Anotace
The course will provide an introduction into the broad topic of the principles of Chinese art and its history over the past two millennia. Based on an hierarchy different from European art, China preferred poetry, calligraphy and painting to architecture and sculpture as the “fine arts” throughout its classical periods. In thirteen lectures, principal prerequisites of Chinese theory of art will be explained, as well as materials and techniques typical for the production of Chinese artworks. Various disciplines of the arts, such as painting, calligraphy, sculpture, architecture, applied arts, and folk art will be introduced one by one, stressing their historical development and theoretical context in which they functioned. Attention will be paid also to contacts and exchanges of the Chinese cultural world with those of China’s neighbors, above all with Japan, and the rest of the world throughout different historical periods. Collecting of Chinese and Japanese art in the West will be briefly introduced, illuminating the principal factors that influenced the formation of collections in Europe. In particular, Czech collections and holdings of Chinese and Japanese artworks in the National Gallery in Prague will be introduced and compared to those in other collections worldwide. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to pay critical attention to
Western scholarship on the topic, discuss published materials and present their view of the subject.