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    • Posts Tagged ‘Chester Beatty Library’

    THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE, AND ALL THE OTHER JAPANESE ZODIAC ANIMALS

    Saturday, January 4th, 2025
    An ivory c1880 netsuke in the shape of an ox and a herd boy reading signed by Gyokkosai 

    Animals from the Japanese zodiac in miniature made in the 18th and 19th century are on display at the Chester Beatty library in Dublin until March 23. The twelve zodiac animals – rat, ox, tiger, hare (rabbit), dragon, snake, horse, goat (sheep), monkey, rooster, dog and boar (pig) – represent the 12 year cycles in Asia.

    On display are tiny sculptures known as Netsuke in the shape of these animals carved from materials such as wood, ivory or metal which tell the story of these animals. In the Edo period (1615-1868) men used netsuke as toggles to secure personal items like money pouches and smoking accessories which they hung from their sashes. Netsuke became fashion statements and inspired artists to express a wide variety of motifs.  Originally derived from the ancient Chinese astrological calendar the display highlights how these stories were uniquely developed in Japan. 2025 is the Year of the Snake, a symbol of revival and renewal in Japan.

    A c1820 ivory monkey netsuke in the style of Mitsuhide

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    IN ADVANCE OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES – BRUSH UP ON YOUR EDO

    Saturday, July 10th, 2021
    Kaminarimon Gate at Kannon Temple Asakusa by Tamagawa Schucho

    With the Olympics less than two weeks away there is right now a rare chance to brush up on matters Japanese – specifically the floating world known as ukiyo-e that expressed the ambitions of the common townspeople of the Edo period  – at the marvellous Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle.  Edo in Colour: Prints from Japan’s Metropolis explores how woodblock prints shaped fashion, fame and identity in Edo, the city now known as Tokyo.

    During the Edo period (c1603-1868) Japan and its arts flourished in isolation from the rest of the world.  By the late 1630’s foreigners were officially prohibited as traditions of the past were revived, refined, parodied and transformed by expanding societies during the relatively peaceful 250 years when the Tokugawa shoguns ruled. In urban Edo a witty and irreverent expression surfaced in the visual and literary arts which gave rise to Kabuki Theatre and the woodblock prints of ukiyo-e. Chester Beatty offers pictures of actors and beauties with masterpieces by Hokusai and Hiroshige and many more from the library’s renowned collection. The exhibition features more than 100 prints and printed books from Edo.  Shown in two parts between now and December the exhibition will close for a week on August 30 to allow for a changeover.  There are various opportunities to explore this fascinating world online and through the accompanying catalogue.  Don’t miss it.

    Party under Wisteria Trellis by Chobunsai Eishi

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    GOYA’S DISASTERS OF WAR AT CHESTER BEATTY IN DUBLIN

    Saturday, October 28th, 2017

    Francisco Goya (1746-1828) The deathbeds (Las camas de la muerte)

    In these days of instantaneous visual news we are all too familiar with war and destruction.  Yet even today it is impossible to better the unflinching look taken in The Disasters of War series by the great Spanish artist Francisco Goya now on view at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.

    Goya’s realistic depictions of the brutaliity of war and its consequences have influenced artists from Manet to Dali and Picasso. The series of etchings has been described as the greatest anti-war manifesto in the history of art.
    Created using sparse line combined with strong light and dark shadow it depicts the warfare, famine and political disillusionment which followed Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Spain in 1808.  Goya worked on the plates from 1810-1820.  The three sections of the disasters show first the brutality of warfare, followed by the famine in Madrid during the winter of 1811-12 in which over 20,000 died and thirdly the ruling elite in Spain is bitterly satirised.
    The prints, complete with ironic titles like What Courage, The Deathbeds and Against the Common Good were not published until 35 years after the artists death. Only in 1863 was it considered politically safe to do so. This was due in part of the repressive regime of King Ferdinand VII (1784-1833) which followed the Napoleonic War.
    The Chester Beatty Library holds the entire series of 80 prints from the second edition of 1892.  Forty of them are on display in a special exhibition which runs until January 21.  Curator of the western collections Dr. Jill Unkell said the etchings are often regarded as the predecessors of modern photo journalism. “Though harrowing, Goya’s poignant observations of human suffering help mitigate the scenes of extreme violence”.

    Francisco Goya (1746-1828) What courage! (Que Valor!)

    Francisco Goya (1746-1828) With or Without Reason (Con razon ó sin ella)

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    HONG LING AT CHESTER BEATTY LIBRARY

    Friday, December 30th, 2016

    Hong LIng - A Peak in Reds.

    Hong LIng – A Peak of Reds.

    The retrospective by Hong Ling continues at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin until January 29.  It charts the development of Hong Ling’s art from student paintings in his personal collection to his vast later works painted in oil and in ink. Born in Beijing in 1955, the artist Hong Ling studied oil painting in the years after the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–76). In the mountains of rural China, however, his brush found a new path. Drawing together the imported medium of oil on canvas with the landscapes and philosophies of China’s artistic heritage, Hong Ling has made a contribution to the world of Chinese landscape painting unparalleled in its vibrancy.

    Working from his studio in the foothills of the Yellow Mountains of China’s Anhui Province, Hong Ling reveals the charged atmosphere of this dramatic locale from the bold colours of the shifting seasons to the heavy mists that weave among pine-clad peaks. As exhilarating as they are immersive, Hong Ling’s paintings stand as an invitation to join him in the landscape that is his home and his inspiration.
    The exhibition is part of a touring retrospective sponsored by UNEEC Culture and Education Foundation, Taiwan, and organised with Soka Art and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.  It follows Hong Ling’s recent retirement from the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing, where he taught oil painting since 1987.  The show will travel on to Bath from Dublin.

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    HONG LING RETROSPECTIVE AT CHESTER BEATTY LIBRARY

    Friday, September 9th, 2016

    A retrospective exhibition of Chinese artist Hong Ling runs at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin from October 21 to January 29, 2017.  Born in Beijing in 1955, the artist studied oil painting in the years after the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–76). In the mountains of rural China his brush found a new path. Drawing together the imported medium of oil on canvas with the landscapes and philosophies of China’s artistic heritage, Hong Ling has made a contribution to the world of Chinese landscape painting unparalleled in its vibrancy.

    The exhibition charts the development of his art from student paintings in his personal collection to vast later works in oil and in ink. Working from his studio in the foothills of the Yellow Mountains of China’s Anhui Province, Hong Ling reveals the charged atmosphere of this dramatic locale from the bold colours of the shifting seasons to the heavy mists that weave among pine-clad peaks. As exhilarating as they are immersive, Hong Ling’s paintings stand as an invitation to join him in the landscape that is his home and his inspiration.

    The exhibition is part of a touring retrospective sponsored by UNEEC Culture and Education Foundation, Taiwan, and organised with Soka Art and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

    A Peak of Reds Hong Ling, 2014, China Private collection © Hong Ling. Courtesy Soka Art Beijing

    A Peak of Reds
    Hong Ling, 2014, China
    Private collection
    © Hong Ling. Courtesy Soka Art Beijing

    White Poplars in the Temple of Heaven Hong Ling, 1979, China Collection of the artist © Hong Ling. Courtesy Soka Art Beijing

    White Poplars in the Temple of Heaven
    Hong Ling, 1979, China
    Collection of the artist
    © Hong Ling. Courtesy Soka Art Beijing

    Rainbow-like Hong Ling, 2015, China Private collection © Hong Ling. Courtesy Soka Art Beijing

    Rainbow-like
    Hong Ling, 2015, China
    Private collection
    © Hong Ling. Courtesy Soka Art Beijing

    Hong Ling painting in ink at his studio © Hong Ling. Courtesy Soka Art Beijing

    Hong Ling painting in ink at his studio
    © Hong Ling. Courtesy Soka Art Beijing

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