Style In The Arts Of China
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
From the sweeping bronze vessels of the Shang dynasty to the refined porcelain of the Ming era, Style in the Arts of China presents a comprehensive and authoritative journey through one of the world's most enduring artistic traditions. William Watson, a preeminent scholar of Chinese art and archaeology, argues that stylistic evolution — rather than mere chronology — is the most revealing lens through which to understand Chinese artistic achievement, tracing recurring aesthetic principles across millennia of painting, sculpture, ceramics, and decorative arts. Watson's prose is precise yet accessible, drawing on deep archaeological and art-historical knowledge to illuminate the philosophical and cultural forces that shaped each successive period of Chinese art. He illustrates how Confucian ideals, Buddhist iconography, and Daoist sensibilities each left indelible marks on form, composition, and material choice. This landmark work challenges Western assumptions about artistic progress and invites readers to reconsider the very language of visual culture — leaving one to wonder just how much of China's aesthetic genius remains yet to be fully understood.
Author: William Watson
Format: Paperback
Genre: History of arts
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Yellowed
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
From the sweeping bronze vessels of the Shang dynasty to the refined porcelain of the Ming era, Style in the Arts of China presents a comprehensive and authoritative journey through one of the world's most enduring artistic traditions. William Watson, a preeminent scholar of Chinese art and archaeology, argues that stylistic evolution — rather than mere chronology — is the most revealing lens through which to understand Chinese artistic achievement, tracing recurring aesthetic principles across millennia of painting, sculpture, ceramics, and decorative arts. Watson's prose is precise yet accessible, drawing on deep archaeological and art-historical knowledge to illuminate the philosophical and cultural forces that shaped each successive period of Chinese art. He illustrates how Confucian ideals, Buddhist iconography, and Daoist sensibilities each left indelible marks on form, composition, and material choice. This landmark work challenges Western assumptions about artistic progress and invites readers to reconsider the very language of visual culture — leaving one to wonder just how much of China's aesthetic genius remains yet to be fully understood.