Tradition and Synthesis: 19th- and 20th-Century Works from East Asia

Open in varying degrees to the outside world, East Asia grappled with issues of rapid modernization during the 19th and 20th centuries. With the end of China’s Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Korea’s Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910), and Japan’s Edo period (1615–1868), these three nations became players on a much larger world stage—with differing degrees of satisfaction and success. Extreme change in the form of social and political upheaval, technological advancement and industrialization, and the introduction of Western learning affected every aspect of East Asian society, including the visual arts. Artists were pulled in many, sometimes contradictory, directions: Some strove to continue the revered artistic traditions of their East Asian past. Others advocated modernization by ignoring their conservative cultural roots and embracing newly introduced Western artistic styles, media, formats, and subject matter. Still other artists sought synthesis, seamlessly blending their historical legacies with other, non-Asian, influences to achieve a truly international approach.

Drawn from the permanent collection and augmented with a few choice loans, Tradition and Synthesis features more than 75 objects including paintings, calligraphy, prints, photographs, drawings, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, and other decorative art from China, Korea, and Japan along with a small selection of works that reflect multiple layers of cross-cultural fertilization.

Curated by Anne Rose Kitigawa, assistant curator of Japanese art, Arthur M. Sackler Museum.