Skip navigation
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp012z10wt610
Title: Small-Size Painting and Its Viewership in Southern Song Dynasty China, 1127–1279
Authors: Cao, Mengge
Advisors: Wang, Cheng-hua CW
Contributors: Art and Archaeology Department
Keywords: Chinese painting
Painting format
Size
Southern Song dynasty
Viewer's experience
Visuality
Subjects: Art history
Asian studies
History
Issue Date: 2024
Publisher: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University
Abstract: This dissertation explores the phenomenon of the increasing significance of small-size painting at the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) imperial court. Combining quantitative analysis of paintings’ dimensions, formal analysis of extant artworks, close reading of historic sources, and integration of newly excavated archaeological evidence, I argue that small-size paintings acquired format-specific characteristics and became a crucial medium for interpersonal communications at the imperial court during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The dissertation is divided into four chapters, each focusing on a different perspective to understand the phenomenon of small-size paintings. Analyzing the physical dimensions of approximately 1,500 extant Song dynasty paintings, Chapter One highlights the significant increase of small-size paintings during the Southern Song period and presents an overview of their subject matter and current mounting formats. Chapter Two addresses the historical perception of small-size paintings during the Song dynasty. By examining the language of measuring painting sizes, as well as the nomenclatures associated with small-size paintings, I argue that the viewer’s interest gradually shifted from the representational content toward the paintings’ material formats. Chapter Three investigates the emerging medium specificities of small-size paintings. Comparing extant works of different sizes, I argue that Southern Song court artists active before the late 12th century configured small-size paintings with the same “pictorial formulas” as their larger counterparts. Nevertheless, artists active after the late 12th century developed unique formal strategies that sustained the viewer’s attention on the surfaces of small-size paintings, inviting an absorptive mode of looking. Chapter Four contextualizes the usage of small-size paintings in the imperial court. By examining the patterns of interactions among emperors, imperial family members, courtiers, and eunuchs, I argue that small-size paintings operated as tokens of interpersonal relationships in the Inner Court. Focusing on the historical significance of painting sizes, this dissertation contributes a new understanding of the interconnected nature of art objects, viewer experiences, and social environment.
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp012z10wt610
Type of Material: Academic dissertations (Ph.D.)
Language: en
Appears in Collections:Art and Archaeology

Files in This Item:
This content is embargoed until 2026-10-01. For questions about theses and dissertations, please contact the Mudd Manuscript Library. For questions about research datasets, as well as other inquiries, please contact the DataSpace curators.


Items in Dataspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.