East Asian Buddhist Painting: Visions and Practices

Catalog description

This course will explore the rich and diverse history of Chinese and Japanese Buddhist painting, from 4th century CE cave-shrines to modern eras. Along with introducing major Buddhist iconographic types, narratives, doctrines, painting styles and techniques, the course will emphasize the functions of painting in religious practices in monasteries and among communities of lay believers. While painting will be the primary focus, we will also consider the spatial and architectural contexts and functions of paintings in cave-shrines and monasteries, the interplay of paintings with sculpture, and other pictorial media such as print illustrations.