Asia

On silk, on paper and in precious books, artists in China, Korea, Persia and India developed their own visual worlds – often handed down from master to pupil over centuries.

The times

In China and Korea, emperors and kings governed with the help of scholar-officials, who won their posts through demanding examinations in literature and philosophy. Mastery of poetry, calligraphy and painting was the mark of an educated person. In Persia and the Mughal Empire in India, rulers kept splendid courts with libraries and workshops where scribes, gilders and painters created books and albums together. Trade routes such as the Silk Road connected these worlds.

What art set out to do

Chinese scholar-painters did not seek an exact likeness in their ink landscapes but mood and moral character: mountains and water stood for the order of the world, bamboo for steadfastness. Persian and Indian court painters, by contrast, told stories – heroic epics, love poetry, hunts and feasts – in glowing colours and the finest detail. What they share is the close bond between image, writing and poetry.

How to recognise it

  • Ink on silk or paper, often as a hanging scroll or a handscroll to be unrolled.
  • Red seals and poems in the picture: owners and admirers left their mark.
  • Empty space is part of the picture – mist, water and sky are left open.
  • Persian and Indian miniatures: glowing colours, gold and many small figures.

Timeline

  • 960–1279: Song dynasty: the golden age of Chinese landscape painting.
  • 1392: In Korea, the Joseon dynasty begins; it will rule for more than 500 years.
  • c. 1525: In Tabriz, the magnificent Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp is created.
  • 1556: Akbar becomes Mughal emperor and builds up a large painting workshop.
  • 1644: The Qing dynasty takes power in China.

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