Chinese Paintings from Japanese Collections

Resnick Pavilion
May 11, 2014–July 6, 2014

This is the first major exhibition in the United States to explore the story of Chinese paintings in Japan over the course of six hundred years, featuring nearly forty masterpieces of the Tang (618–906), Song (960–1279), Yuan (1260–1368), and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties. Most of these paintings, owned by Japanese museums, have never been displayed outside of Japan.

The exhibition demonstrates Japan’s role in preserving a large part of China’s cultural and artistic heritage during three key phases in Japanese history: the Kamakura and Muromachi period (14th–16th centuries); the Edo period (17th–19th centuries); and the Meiji, Taish?, and early Sh?wa periods (early 20th century). Chinese paintings functioned in Japan as symbols of Chinese culture, indicators of social status, and models for styles of Japanese painting, such as Zen and Kan? School painting.

Due to the light-sensitive nature of the works of art in this exhibition, the exhibition takes place in two parts. 
Part I  May 11–June 1, 2014
Part II  June 7–July 6, 2014
The exhibition will be closed to the public June 2
6 to accommodate the change in the selection of works on view.

See this exhibition for free: become a member.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and was made possible in part by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Blakemore Foundation. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

LACMA is grateful for the special cooperation of the Tokyo National Museum.

Additional support is provided by Bonhams.

Image: Liang Kai, China, The Poet Li Bai Chanting a Poem on a Stroll, Southern Song dynasty, 13th century, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Tokyo National Museum, Important Cultural Property, image courtesy of TNM Image Archive.

Hanshan and Shide
Yintuoluo?
China, Yuan dynasty, 14th century
Two Patriarchs Harmonizing their Minds
Traditionally attributed to Shike (active 10th century)
China, Southern Song dynasty, 13th century
Sparrows on Bamboo in the Rain
Attributed to Muqi
China, Southern Song or Yuan dynasty, 13th century
Fu Sheng Transmitting the Classic
Attributed to Wang Wei (699–759)
China, Tang dynasty, 8th century
Four Elegant Pastimes
Ren Renfa (China, 1254–1327)
China, Early Ming dynasty, 14–15th century
Vegetables
Chen You (China, active 15th century)
China, Ming dynasty, 15th century
A Copy of Lu Hong's Ten Views from a Thatched-roof Cottage
China, Yuan dynasty, 14th century
Lonely Temple among Pine-covered Peaks
Dai Jin, (China, 1388–1462)
China, Ming dynasty, late 15th century

A Curators Point of View

In one painting, a dragon’s powerful body writhes in space as it hurtles through clouds and mist. In another, a Zen master leans on his pet tiger; both the monk and the tiger are sound asleep. In a third, two Zen eccentrics sit on the exposed roots of a pine tree and cackle with laughter in a mountain forest. Dating to the 13th and 14th centuries, these three paintings are among the many masterpieces included in the first...