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 artistic, ideological, social meanings and the technical foundations 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 the 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

The lessons 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 who do not attend the lessons at the university classroom cannot be regarded as attendees.   

Twenty lessons (2 hours each), subdivided as follows:

(A) PART ONE AND TWO comprise 15 (fifteen) lessons, carried out at the university classroom with the didactic support of PPT presentations including historical summaries, artwork images with written captions, comments and explanations.

(B) PART THREE comprises 5 (five) lessons offering  training integrations, carried out at five Genoese museums: (1) Galleria di Palazzo Bianco; (2) Galleria di Palazzo Rosso; (3) Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola; (4) Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Reale; (5) Museo d’Arte Orientale ‘Edoardo Chiossone’.

Visits 1-4 focus on Chinese and Japanese porcelains imported to Genoa during the seventeenth-nineteenth centuries. Originally integrated as luxury decorations among the furnishings of aristocratic city palaces, these porcelains became part of Genoese public museums’ permanent installations in the modern and contemporary periods.

Visit 5 illustrates (a) the formation of Edoardo Chiossone’s Japanese and Chinese collections in Japan during the last quarter of the nineteenth century; (b) the selection of the venue, the design and construction of the museum building in the years following the end of the Second World War; (c) the museum’s permanent installation and exhibition concept.

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 (seventeenth–nineteenth centuries):

(1) Japan and Asia.

(2) Japan and the West, the West and Japan.

(3) Japan’s modernisation in the Meiji era (1868-1912).

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

Subjects and topics of the lessons

• The West discovers Japanese art: western contractors of the late nineteenth 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.
• The Edo period and the Meiji era.

PART ONE. Technical and artistic cultures and decorative styles: (1) Lacquerware, (2) Porcelain, (3) Metals, (4) Enamels.

PART TWO. The culture of city-dwellers (chōnin bunka) and the ‘images of the floating world’ (ukiyoe). Lifestyle and imagery of the bourgeoisie and the common people: (5) Paintings, (6) ‘Brocade prints’.

PART THREE. Decorative artworks imported to Genoa from East Asia in the seventeenth-nineteenth century.

Students are advised to attend the classes regularly.

Crossover competences

These lessons comprise a relevant amount of crossover competences exploring and analysing the historical relations, the vital artistic contaminations and the cultural innovations involving Japan, East Asia and Europe in the early-modern and modern period. This historical-cultural approach favours the comprehension and interpretation of local and world phenomena in the context of the trans-national history of arts and ideas.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Texts to be studied

1. Donatella Failla, Masterpieces of Japanese art from Edo period to modernisation, Silvana Editoriale d’Arte, Cinisello Balsamo, Milano 2002.
2. Study of the lessons delivered at the classroom (PPT format).
3. Study of the notes individually taken during the lessons delivered at the classroom and during the visits of five Genoese museums.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

DONATELLA FAILLA (President)

LAURA PARODI

GIACOMO MONTANARI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes will start on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

• ​Brief oral tests administered to the attendees during the classes.
• 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.

ERASMUS STUDENTS

Erasmus students who are not proficient in Italian may study the English edition of the book indicated above and take the examination in English.