HAA 0690 Chinese Landscape Painting

(offered infrequently)

The famous Chinese landscape painter named Kuo Hsi of the Song Dynasty (960-1126) asked 'why the virtuous person takes delight in landscapes.' He reasoned that contemplation of a painting of landscape could refresh the mind and heart in as compelling a fashion as wandering among the mountains themselves. The Chinese landscape painters who in their pictures satisfy this longing depict not merely the outward and visible forms of nature, but the inner life and harmony that pervade them. This course attempts to discover the sources of this symbolic language.