THE ART MUSEUM
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey 08544
tel: (609) 258-3788
e-mail: artmuseum@princeton.edu
internet: webware.Princeton.EDU/artmus/


Seeing Double: Copies and Copying in the Arts of China
February 13 through July 1, 2001

This exhibition is an overview of the way Chinese artists have traditionally copied, imitated, and alluded to earlier works in the technical production and aesthetic appreciation of art. Awareness of copying processes and techniques can yield surprises when investigating paintings that have been viewed as copies. Until recently, the Museumıs ink-on-paper hanging scroll Distant Music, Wind, and Moonlight has been attributed to or judged a copy of Ni Tsan. Close examination now reveals this scroll may be a retouched underlayer of a Ni Tsan original. Copying is also inseparable from the development and teaching of the arts of China. Ink on paper rubbings and woodblock prints in the form of calligraphy copybooks and painting manuals have provided standard models for teaching through copying. Like a musical score, the rubbing or print provides an outline to which an artist must supply expression in brush and ink. Even today, in the art historical study of painting and calligraphy, exhibiting copies side by side with their original models is crucial to understanding the copying process, and should be an important aspect of any teaching collection. This exhibition accompanies the seminar taught by visiting professor Robert E. Harrist, Jr. in the Department of Art and Archaeology.















Return to article selection page