Pictures for Use and Pleasure: Vernacular Painting in High Qing China / Edition 1

by James Cahill

Overview

In this groundbreaking book, James Cahill expands the field of Chinese pictorial art history, opening both scholarly studies and popular appreciation to vernacular paintings, "pictures for use and pleasure." These were works commissioned and appreciated during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by the non-elites of Chinese society, including women. Traditional Chinese collectors, like present-day scholars of Chinese painting, have favored the "literati" paintings of the Chinese male elite, disparaging vernacular works, often intended as decorations or produced to mark a special occasion. Cahill challenges the dominant dogma and doctrine of the literati, showing how the vernacular images, both beautiful and appealing, strengthen our understanding of High Qing culture. They bring to light the Qing or Manchu emperors' fascination with erotic culture in the thriving cities of the Yangtze Delta and demonstrate the growth of figure painting in and around Beijing's imperial court. They also revise our understanding of gender roles and show how Chinese artists made use of European styles. By introducing a large, rich body of works, Pictures for Use and Pleasure opens new windows on later Chinese life and society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520258570
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	09/01/2010
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	317,266
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

James Cahill is Professor Emeritus of Chinese Art at the University of California, Berkeley. A recipient of the College Art Association's Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Art and the Charles Lang Freer Medal, an award established by the Smithsonian Institution to honor distinguished career contributions in the history of Asian and Near Eastern Art, he is the author of many books including The Lyric Journey: Poetic Painting in China and Japan and The Painter's Practice: How Artists Lived and Worked in Traditional China.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

ONE Recognizing Vernacular Painting
TWO Studio Artists in Cities and Court
THREE Adoptions from the West
FOUR The Artists’ Repertories
FIVE Beautiful Women and the Courtesan Culture
Conclusion

Appendix: Poem by Zhou Qi
Glossary
List of Chinese Names and Terms
Notes
Bibliography
List of Illustrations
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A thought-provoking book for serious readers wanting a deep immersion in Chinese art history, social culture, and gender studies."—Library Journal

"Lavishly illustrated, this is an absolutely crucial book for all students, scholars, and connoisseurs of Chinese painting."—Choice

"A breakthrough in . . . the study of Chinese visual arts and material culture."—Oxford Art Journal

"Will undoubtedly serve as a starting point for all future studies of the subject."—China Review
International

Editorial Reviews

Lavishly illustrated, this is an absolutely crucial book for all students, scholars, and connoisseurs of Chinese painting.

Choice

Will undoubtedly serve as a starting point for all future studies of the subject.

China Review International

A breakthrough in . . . the study of Chinese visual arts and material culture.

Oxford Art Journal

An important book. . . . Cahill draws attention to a category of paintings that have hitherto been little studied.

CAA Reviews - Marion S. Lee

Will undoubtedly serve as a starting point for all future studies of the subject.

China Review Ícaro|Ícaro|Ícaro|International

"A thought-provoking book for serious readers wanting a deep immersion in Chinese art history, social culture, and gender studies."—Library Journal

"Lavishly illustrated, this is an absolutely crucial book for all students, scholars, and connoisseurs of Chinese painting."—Choice

"A breakthrough in . . . the study of Chinese visual arts and material culture."—Oxford Art Journal

"Will undoubtedly serve as a starting point for all future studies of the subject."—China Review
International

"An important book. . . . Cahill draws attention to a category of paintings that have hitherto been little studied."—Caa Reviews

From the Publisher

After researching the subject for more than ten years, Cahill (Chinese art, emeritus, Univ. of California, Berkeley) offers new perspectives on a previously unappreciated genre: functional (that is, nonliterati) painting from the late Ming (late 16th to mid-17th century) through the High Qing of the Manchu dynasty (mid-17th to late 18th century). Professional studio-artists (as opposed to scholar-officials) produced these silk hanging scrolls, hand scrolls, and albums for clients in the burgeoning cities in the Jiangnan area of southeastern China. Some of the painters also traveled north at times to work in the imperial court of Beijing, so the refined academy style there and a northern school of figure painting also come into play. European influences are noted in the adoption of illusionistic aspects (e.g., the "looking through" interior scenes); and the fascinating subgenre of the beautiful-woman (meiren hua) type of painting is discussed. VERDICT Although the illustrations are in color, their small size makes it difficult to see the myriad life details depicted without a magnifying glass. A thought-provoking book for serious readers wanting a deep immersion in Chinese art history, social culture, and gender studies.—Anne Marie Lane, Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie

Library Journal