Chinese Clothing: A Historical Overview - Part II [1]Wearable ArtMarie-Therese Wisnioski

Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series on Chinese textiles:
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague's Brocade Collection - Part I
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague's Tapestry Collection - Part I
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Tapestry Collection - Part II
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Embroidery Collection - Part I
Chinese Textiles: Amy Clague’s Brocade Collection - Part II
Chinese Clothing: A Historical Overview - Part I
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part I
Chinese Clothing: Shenyi and Broad Sleeves - Part II
Chinese Clothing: A Historical Overview - Part II

Chinese Clothing: A Historical Overview - Part II [1]
By the time of the Song Dynasty (920-1279), the Han women had developed the tradition of chest-binding, resulting in the rise of popularity of the elegant, cloak-like garment named, beizi. It was favored by men and women of all ages and all social backgrounds.

Beizi (Chinese: 褙子; pinyin: bèizi), also known as beizi (Chinese: 背子; pinyin: bēizi) and chuozi (Chinese: 綽子; pinyin: chuòzi), is traditional Chinese attire commonly worn by both men and women; it was typically a large loose outer coat with loose and long sleeves. The beizi originated in the Song dynasty. It was most popular during the Song dynasty, Ming dynasty, and from the early Qing to the Mid-Qing dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, the beizi was called pī fēng (披風). When worn by men, it is sometimes referred as changyi (氅衣), hèchǎng (鹤氅; 'crane cloak'), or dachang (大氅) when it features large sleeves and knotted ties at the front as a garment closure.

The Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368) was established by the Mongols when they unified China. The Mongols at that time wore mao li, or triangular hats, and men often wore earrings. The official dress code became a mixture of Han and Mongol styles.

A modern version of the triangular hat.

The clothing worn by the Mongols in the 13th and 14th century CE, like most other aspects of their culture, reflected their nomadic lifestyle in the often harsh climate of the Asian steppe. Typical items included felt hats, long jackets with loose sleeves, and practical baggy trousers. As the Mongol army was based on fast-moving, lightly armed cavalry, recruiters usually had a relaxed 'come-as-you-are' approach to uniforms so that clothes in both war and peace were often very similar. Heavy cavalry units did wear armour made from padded materials, hardened leather and pieces of metal. Many of the Mongol clothes of the medieval period are still worn by nomadic peoples today across Eurasia.

Mongolian Deel Robe.

When power again transferred to the Han people, the rulers of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) created laws prohibiting the previous dynasty's Mongol language, surnames and clothing, resulting in a return to the dress style of the Tang Dynasty. The official uniform of the Ming Dynasty was intended to reflect a sense of dignity and splendor, as is demonstrated by the complex forms, styles and dressing rituals of the emperor and officials of all levels.

”Ming” means brightness. The name was chosen by the first Ming Emperor as a contrast to the dark period in which the dynasty came to power. The Ming Dynasty was a time of economic growth and cultural splendor which produced the first direct commercial contacts with the West. During much of the Ming dynasty, China and India together accounted for more than half of the world's gross national product. Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million.

The color of clothes also changed from a single blue color to more rich colors, and the style of robes became longer and longer, some even covered the feet, especially the sleeves were very fat and wide. Hanfu in Ming Dynasty had the following characteristics:
(i) The official and men's clothing in the Ming Dynasty were mainly round-necked, which was one of the measures to restore the Han clothing. The round-necked gown in the Song Dynasty was replaced by the minority culture in Liao, Xia, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties.
(ii) Zhu Yuanzhang advocated the restoration of Han characteristics in the Ming Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, round-necked robes were prescribed in the form of clear text. It was worn by emperors, ministers, literati, and rich businessmen of all levels, but the pattern and color were different.
(iii) Buzi on the official uniform. The system of "Buzi (补子)" is clearly defined. Before the Ming Dynasty, in terms of the patterns on the official uniforms, the twelve Wenzhang was used to distinguish the emperor and his ministers.
(iv) In the Tang Dynasty, the prototype of "Buzi" appeared. In the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the emperor, prince, and nobility, officials also continued to enjoy the twelve-chapter pattern. In addition, the clothing of civil and military officials was replaced by "Buzi" with the pattern of birds and animals, which distinguished the official positions since then.

Clothing worn by religious figures during the Ming Dynasty in China (1368-1644).

In the Ming Dynasty, a series of measures were taken to develop production, which made industry and commerce develop continuously, and the production technology of each industry had improved. After the rise of the citizen class, the aesthetic interest had become the aesthetic orientation of the general dress. "Secularization" of the aesthetic and cultural sources and a relatively general, casual, and loose historical and cultural environment was created. At the beginning of Ming Dynasty, most people used cloth to make robes, but later, many people did not use cloth, but used silk and other gorgeous fabric cuts.

The Qing Dynasty, lasting over 200 years (1644-1911), was a period which saw significant changes in clothing style. The rulers tried to force Manchurian dress style on the Han people, but this was met with strong resistence. A later compromise by government led to a combination of the two dress styles. The mandarin long gown (changpao) and jacket (magua) was the quintessential Qing style.

The images below are pictures taken in the Confucius Museum Chinese Hanfu, which are ancient silk fabric relics from the Ming Dynasty.

Reference:
[1] Chinese Clothing, H. Mei, Cambridge University Press (2011).

Birds and Flowers in Japanese Textile DesignsPart I [1]Art ReviewMarie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
For your convenience, I have listed below other post on Japanese textiles on this blogspot.
Discharge Thundercloud
The Basic Kimono Pattern
The Kimono and Japanese Textile Designs
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns - Part I
Textile Dyeing Patterns of Japan
Traditional Japanese Arabesque Patterns - Part II
Sarasa Arabesque Patterns
Contemporary Japanese Textile Creations
Shibori (Tie-Dying)
History of the Kimono
A Textile Tour of Japan - Part I
A Textile Tour of Japan - Part II
The History of the Obi
Japanese Embroidery (Shishu)
Japanese Dyed Textiles
Aizome (Japanese Indigo Dyeing)
Stencil-Dyed Indigo Arabesque Patterns
Japanese Paintings on Silk
Tsutsugaki - Freehand Paste-Resist Dyeing
Street Play in Tokyo
Birds and Flowers in Japanese Textile Designs
Japanese Colors and Inks on Paper From the Idemitsu Collection
Yuzen: Multicolored Past-Resist Dyeing - Part I
Yuzen: Multi-colored Paste-Resist Dyeing - Part II
Katazome (Stencil Dyeing) - Part I
Katazome (Stencil Dyeing) - Part II
Katazome (Stencil Dyeing) - Part III
Birds and Flowers in Japanese Textile Designs - Part I

Introduction
The Japanese appreciation of nature is reflected in its long history and tradition of textile design. Expressions of nature in textile motifs and patterns, are in fact, fundamental to the Japanese concept of design.

The use of a black background in Japanese textile design with bird motifs serves both aesthetic and symbolic purposes, including creating high contrast, signifying elegance and formality, and reflecting philosophical insights.

Aesthetic Reasons
(i) High Contrast: A deep, rich black background (known as kuro) makes the detailed, often colorful, bird motifs "pop out" to the viewer, ensuring they are the focal point of the design.
(ii) Focus on Detail: The stark contrast forces the viewer's eye to concentrate on the intricate patterns, feather textures, and delicate lines of the birds and surrounding elements (like plants or water ripples), highlighting the artist's craftsmanship.
(iii) Depth and Vitality: While the background may be dark and seemingly empty, the vibrant subjects evoke a strong sense of life and vitality against the dark expanse, giving the scene depth and dynamism.

Symbolic and Cultural Reasons
(i) Formality and Elegance. Black is highly regarded as a color of formality, sophistication, and elegance in Japanese culture, used for important ceremonial robes like the kurotomesode kimono worn at formal events. A black background bestows a sense of dignity and prestige upon the textile.
(ii) Authority and Power. Historically, black was associated with the samurai class and represented authority, strength, and a commanding presence.
(iii) Philosophical and Poetic Meaning. In Japanese art forms like calligraphy and ink painting (sumi-e), black ink is used to express strong emotions and philosophical insights through simplicity and contrast. This aesthetic carries over to textiles.
(iv) Association with the Unknown/Mystery. While having positive associations, black can also represent mystery, the unknown, and the transient nature of life, which can add a layer of poetic depth to the natural imagery.

Birds and Flowers in Japanese Textile Designs - Part I [1]

Reference:
[1] Mamoru Fujioka, The Best in International Textile Design, Japanese Style, Textile Dyeing Patterns 4, Kyoto Shoin (1989).

Limited or Restricted Palettes [1]Art ResourceMarie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
This is the fifty-fourth post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
Blue Pigments - Part III
Green Pigments - Part I
Green Pigments - Part II
Red Pigments - Part I
Red Pigments - Part II
Yellow Pigments - Part I
Yellow Pigments - Part II
Brown and Violet Pigments
Black Pigments
White Pigments - Part I
White Pigments - Part II
White Pigments - Part III
Inert Pigments
Permanence of Pigments: New Pigments - Part I
Permanence of Pigments: New Pigments - Part II
Limited or Restricted Palettes

There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Durable press and wash-and-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.

To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.

If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.

The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!


Limited or Restricted Palettes [1]
Although it is possible to produce a fairly useful range of hues with mixtures of black, white, and the three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, we find that, owing to the various qualitities of the substances we use as pigments, there are many specific color effects which can be obtained only by employing a multiplicity of pigments. Depending upon the desired color key or tonal harmony of the painting as a whole, a complete range of colors can sometimes be effected with a very limited palette, but usually a free choice of pigments is required. Whether the desired result be harmony, contrast, monotony, harsh brilliance, or softness, it is not obtained by merely matching the local colors of nature, but rather by translating, transposing, or manipulating the tones and colors within the chosen key. A spot of color, which in one painting is garish and brilliant, might be a dull blight on another picture.

Here are a few different limited color palettes that can achieve a broad range of color mixtures. The palette is determined by the chromatic qualities of each primary. This palette is chosen due to the intensity of the yellow, needing a hue that can reach the particular range in the image.

The choice of pigments is entirely a matter of the individual's purpose and intentions. It may be guided by the requirements of the school of painting to which the artist adheres to, but it must be controlled by understanding of the properties and potentialities of the pigments, each of which requires some study and experience.

The Zorn palette is a limited palette of four colors—Vermilion, Ivory Black, Yellow Ochre, and Flake White—used by Swedish painter Anders Zorn. This palette simplifies color mixing, allowing artists to focus on tonal value, composition, and achieving greater color harmony and balance, as it relies on mixing these four pigments to create a wide range of colors. The black is used as a substitute for blue and is crucial for creating muted tones and shadows.

If a painter limits himself/herself to one red and choses light cadium, he/she will be able to approximate tones of the duller earth reds with mixtures, but he/she must forgo tints and glazes that alizarin will produce. If the painter has both light cadmium red and alizarin she/he can match the deeper cadmium reds, but if she/he has only a medium or deep cadmium red, the painter cannot produce the bright vermillion shades, and mixtures with yellow will produce only muddy approximations. The number of greens, both vivid and subdued, that can be made by utlizing all the permanent green, blue, and yellow pigments is unlimited; no painter could possibly want all of them in a single landscape. Yet an arbitary limitation to too few pigments - for example, to one yellow instead of two - will obviously handicap the painter in most instances.

San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk by Claude Monet.
Claude Monet used a limited palette of around nine colors, which included cadmium yellow and cadmium yellow light, particularly after achieving commercial success in the 1880s. He did not limit himself to just one color, but his palette was restricted compared to some other artists.

A pale or lemon yellow pigment (such as light cadmium yellow or strontium yellow) is so different from golden yellows (like cadmium yellow medium or deep) that on a working palette they behave like two different pigments rather than two shades of the same color, especially when they are used in mixtures to create greens, oranges, etc. The average palette, therefore, usually requires two bright yellows instead of one. The differences between the medium and the deep cadmium yellows, however, are not nearly so significant; indeed, the medium of some brands is the same or nearly the same as the deep of others, and so these two could be much more accurately considered as different shades of the same color.

Cadium Yellow Light.

Cadium Yellow Medium.

Cadium Yellow Deep.

Some painters attach great importance to the convenience of having a range or scale of hues with no wide areas in between, so that clear, brilliant, ready-for-use colors are available; others prefer to work with as few colors as possible. The artist is guided, in this respect, by the nature of the work at hand.

Yves Klein worked with the fewest colors, famously using a single, vibrant blue known as International Klein Blue (IKB) in his monochrome works. Other artists, like Piet Mondrian, also used a limited palette, but Klein's deliberate and radical choice of just one color across many works is what makes him stand out in this regard.

Artist and Title: Yves Klein, Anthropometry of the Blue Period (ANT 82), 1960.
Technique and Materials: Pure pigment and synthetic resin on paper laid down on canvas.
Size: 61 3/5 × 111 1/5 in | 156.5 × 282.5 cm.

Aside from the easy portability of the minimum color-note outfit, the most legitimate technical reason for limitation of a palette is that painting with too great an assortment of ready-made color effects result in a defect similar to that produced by over manipulation or by the use of tiny, "picky" brushwork. referred to elsewhere in these art resource posts. Students are taught to work with few colors as a method of discipline, just as they are taught to work with large brushes, but the arbitary elimination of useful colors is an unnecessary handicap to mature painters.

An average normal working palette for use an individual painting would consist of twelve to fourteen colors. Less than a dozen would be a simplified palette and more than fourteen can be called an elaborate palette.

Hue Tolerance
In a previous blog post, reference was made to the rating or quality of the various brands of artists' colors on the market. Among the best grades of paints, we find definite variations in color effects; for example, the burnt sienna of one manufacturer will be a deep, translucent mahogany hue, and another, equally fine and pure, may be distinctly paler and more opaque.

In establising the American Paint standard the committee studied the question of establishing a set of hue limitations for each pigment but finally did not include such restrictions in the Standard, because the judgement of the manufacturer on what constitutes a medium or deep cadmium yellow or the difference between "good" or "bad" raw number, for example, is based on the manufacturer's experience and also upon its acceptance by their customers, for artists always have their individual preferences in these matters. Furthermore, the colorimetric specifications for tinting strength act as controls, because if the pigment is too far from the true example of its prototype, it will not meet the performance of this test.

Munsell arbitrarily divided the hue circle into 100 steps of equal visual change in hue, with the zero point at the beginning of the red sector, as shown in the above figure. Hue may be identified by the number from 0 to 100, as shown in the outer circle. This may be useful for statistical records, cataloging and computer programming. However, the meaning is more obvious if the hue is identified by the hue sector and the step, on a scale of ten, within that sector. For example, the hue in the middle of the red sector is called “five red”, and is written “5R.” (The zero step is not used, so there is a 10R hue, but no 0 YR.) This method of identifying hue is shown on the inner circle.

Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).