OVERVIEW

In Japan, Eurasia’s extreme geographic limit, there developed a complex civilization, typically insular, rich in local traditions yet cosmopolitan, capable of assimilating and ‘japanising’ the contributions and influxes coming from Continental, Insular and Southern Asia, as well as from Europe. Within this cultural and historical framework, the technical foundations and artistic, ideological and social meanings of Japan’s figurative and decorative arts of the Edo period (1600-1867) and the Meiji era (1868-1912) will be explored and analysed.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main aim of these lessons consists in: (1) Providing a comprehensive art-historical and cultural perception of the civilization of Japan and of its main developing lines during the proto-modern and modern ages (17th-19th centuries). (2) Evidencing the most peculiar aesthetic and technical aspects of the Japanese artistic productions. (3) Focusing on the Asian and European civilization influences on the art productions of Japan and, conversely, on the influence of Japanese art in the West during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main aim of these lessons consists in:

1. Providing a comprehensive art-historical and cultural overview of the civilization of Japan and of its main developing lines during early-modern and modern period.
2. Evidencing the most peculiar aesthetic and technical aspects of Japan’s figurative and decorative productions.
3. Focusing on the Asian and European civilization influences on the arts of Edo-period Japan, as well as on the influences of Japanese art in Europe during the Meiji era.
4. Expressing the topics with clear and correct language, using the appropriate aesthetic, historical and technical terms.

TEACHING METHODS

Forty hours subdivided into twenty lessons (two hours each), carried out with PPT presentations comprising historical summaries, images with written captions and explanations, as well as vocal comments.

The lessons, complemented by the contents of the above-mentioned LAB, are delivered at the university classroom and are to be attended exclusively there.

The attendance, albeit not compulsory, is strongly advised. Only the students regularly attending the lessons at the university classroom are to be regarded as attendees.

Students not attending the lessons at the university classroom cannot be regarded as attendees.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Introduction to Japan’s cultural history during the proto-modern and modern periods

Cultural history, development of ideas and thought in early-modern and modern Japan (17th-19th centuries):

1. Japan and Asia.
2. Japan and the West, the West and Japan.
3. Japan’s modernisation in the Meiji era (1868-1912). (4) Historical profile of the Japanese legislation on cultural heritage in the late 19th century.

History of figurative and decorative arts in early-modern and modern Japan

Subjects and topics of the lessons

• The West discovers Japanese art: western contractors of the late 19th century and their double role in the modernization of Japan and the internationalization of Japanese artistic culture.
• Japanese collections in Europe and Italy, with special regard to the ‘Edoardo Chiossone’ Museum of Oriental Art, Genoa.
• Edo period and the culture of city-dwellers (chōnin bunka). (1) “Images of the floating world” (ukiyoe): lifestyle and imagery of the bourgeois and the common people. (2) Paintings (nikuhitsu ukiyoe). (3) “Brocade prints” (nishikie hanga). (4) Male and female clothing accessories of artistic importance.
• Lacquerware, porcelain, metal, enamel: technical-artistic cultures, and decorative styles of the Edo period and the Meiji era.
• The LABORATORY Image culture and iconography in the arts of East Asia: figures in words, thoughts, forms and symbols (1 credit) integrates the lessons by analysing the semantic connections between words, art images and their use as auspicious metaphors, symbols and talismans.

Students are advised to attend the classes as much as possible, and to enrol both in the regular course and in the LAB (1 credit). Please note that enrolment in the LAB is also open to students of previous academic years.

Crossover competences

These lessons comprise a relevant amount of crossover competences as they explore and analyze the historical relations, vital artistic contaminations and cultural innovations involving Japan, Asia and the West in the early-modern and modern period. This historical-cultural approach favors the comprehension and interpretation of local phenomena in the context of the trans-national history of arts and ideas.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Texts to be studied

     Donatella Failla, Masterpieces of Japanese art from Edo period to modernisation, Silvana Editoriale d’Arte, Milano 2002.

     Donatella Failla, “The protection of cultural properties in Japan. Part One”, Zeitschrift für Japanisches Recht / Journal of Japanese Law, Deutsch-Japanische Juristenvereinigung E.V., Max-Planck-Institut für Privatrecht, 9. Jahrgang / Vol. 9 (2004), 18, pp. 67-100.

Examination programme

1. Study of the two texts mentioned above.
2. Study of the lessons delivered at the classroom (PPT format) and, for the attendees, also study of further material made available by the teacher if needed.
3. Study of the notes taken at the classroom by attendees and students enrolled in the LABORATORY.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

DONATELLA FAILLA (President)

MIRYAM ZOCCHEDDU

GIACOMO MONTANARI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

1° semester, according to the class schedule

Class schedule

HISTORY OF ART OF EAST ASIA

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

• Brief oral intermediate tests administered to the attendees during the classes:

1. Each student in the attendance will select three artworks amongst those introduced during the lessons, to be studied and commented in the classroom.
2. Oral paper on a topic selected from among those dealt with in the LAB.

• Final oral exam.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Carried out coherently with the aim of the lessons and the learning outcomes, the intermediary and final oral exams will ascertain the candidates’ ability in:

1. Providing a comprehensive art-historical and cultural view of the artistic civilization of Japan and its main developing lines during the early-modern and modern ages.
2. Evidencing the historical and cultural, aesthetic and technical aspects peculiar to the Japanese artistic productions, both figurative and decorative.
3. Focusing on the influences of the Asian and European civilizations on the art productions of Japan and, conversely, on the influence of Japanese art in Europe during the second half of the19th century.

The candidate’s exam will be evaluated according to the following parameters:

1. Coherence and consistence in describing the art-historical and sociocultural contexts.
2. Capability of critical reasoning on the subject and its different topics.
3. Expository ability and style, proper use of the aesthetic historical and technical vocabulary. 

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Beyond the periods declared in the public regulations of the Course of Studies, extra-ordinary exam sessions will be conceded only to the students who have not completed university exams within set time.