For this week’s blog I chose to share a Ming Dynasty painting Called Dragon Pine. It was painted by Wu Boli a Daoist priest fro the Daoist pope Zhang Yuchu. The trunk of the pine seems to resemble the back and scales of a dragon. It is thought that the dragon like tree in this painting could represent the Daoist state or the state of having transcended to 
the state of a perfect being. I enjoy this piece because the tree does look like a dragon, or at least the depictions of dragons from Chinese history. The ink gives a simplistic feel to the artwork while the detail in the branches adds complexity. I enjoy the balance that the two create. I find it interesting that although the background in this print is nearly nonexistent, it works. The detail of the tree branches allow the background to just fade out and not be needed to continue the sense of space. Very interesting. The information on the print as well as the photograph were found at http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ming/hd_ming.htm.
Ming Dynasty
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Cool topic. I really enjoyed hearing your perspective on the painting. I really enjoy this kind of art. My friend does painting like this, but he isn’t famous or well known it is just his hobby. Your piece very educational and you did a good job explaining the piece.
Nice explanation of the work and history behind it. I also like the way a simple black and white ink picture can still be so amazing. I really like the detail in these types of paintings. Lines are sharp exactly where they should be and round in the exact places to really give that feeling of realism. Do you think the lack of background was meant to place more attention on the tree? Looking at this work it feels like one tree is being singled out from a forest and at that point no attention is paid to the rest. Awesome job and nice choice of painting.
This is a very nice work. It is interesting that there is not background but I think you are right, it works for this piece and draws the viewer to the tree. You didn’t give a whole lot of background but I understand that given that information was more than likely very difficult to find on both the piece and the artist. I wish that the Ming’s would have documented their lives and thoughts better. It feels like there is just a big chunk of history there that is missing! But all in all i like your choice of painting, it is really interesting.
It is interesting how the tree actually does remind me of a dragon. I’m the type of person that likes paintings with a lot of colors, just because it grabs my attention more, but in this case i think the simplicity adds to the authenticity. Great post!
Is it a dragon or a tree, or both? Once again I feel like the Chinese are onto something I just don’t get, like the rooster, ox, snake, etc. labels they have for you in the Chinese restaurants’ placemats. What does it mean? How do they know that?
Thanks for the information, I think there just must be a ton of things to study in reference to Chinese art. Maybe the mantra here could be that by using black and white they are saying “simpler is better”. Is that a theory of the Daoist?
I like your choice and the vision you see in the piece. I can see the dragon also. It is an appropriate subject for a Ming artist. I too chose the Ming Dynasty for my Non-Western topic and found that time of art in China to be very detailed as well. You included all the information required and keot it simple at the same time. I like the way you posted this assignment. Is Daoism something that you are familiar with yourself? I find the books about the subject can be good philosophy in an extremely simple way- very few words to say a lot.
I really like your description, but what is Daoism? It would be helpful to know the significance of Daoism to this piece to critique it better. However, I also like how simple the ink makes the piece. Very descriptive!