A study of 18th and 19th century Japanese Nanga paintings through art historical and material analysis, with a focus on the Nanpin School

A study of 18th to 19th-century Japanese Nanga Paintings through art historical and material analysis, with a focus on the Nanpin School. This PhD project will compare Japanese Nanga paintings with the Chinese paintings that influenced them using art historical studies and scientific analysis of the materials and media. The British Museum and the Ashmolean together have the largest collections in the UK. The Curator of Japanese Art at the Ashmolean Museum and the Curators of Japanese Art and Chinese Art at the British Museum have all given permission to access the Japanese Nanga paintings and Chinese painting in their collections to carry out the research needed for this PhD. The project will be interdisciplinary, involving art history informed by scientific analysis; material analysis through the angle of paper conservation; and scientific analysis of potential light-induced damage to inform display conditions of exhibitions. Extensive research has been carried out on Western painting materials and media (Trenrelman 2009; Ambers 2010; Neevel 2013), but only limited research has been carried out on East Asian paintings (Arai 2007; Winter 2008) and little recent research has been conducted on materials transmission processes from Chinese to Japanese paintings (Naka 2014), in particular paper-based Nanga paintings. Thus, this project would provide essential evidence for unresolved art history research questions such as trading routes; transmission process of painting knowledge and techniques; forgeries of paintings; and safe display environments for light-sensitive dyes for long-term preservation purposes. The principal aim of this project is to undertake the first comparative materials analysis of Japanese Nanga paintings and the Chinese paintings that influenced them. This will involve a combination of scientific analysis and art historical research using Ashmolean Museum and British Museum collections. This is an innovative research project, providing essential scientific evidence of painting materials to examine how Japanese Nanga paintings were created in terms of techniques and materials in comparison to Chinese paintings from Yuan (13th-14th C), Ming (14th-17th C), Qing (17th-20th C) Dynasties. It will also examine variations among Japanese Nanga artists employing non-invasive scientific imaging and spectroscopy analysis with the support of conservation scientists at NTU. As well as comparing these with
Chinese paintings, I will cross-reference them with the literary sources "Hasshu gafu (Manual of Eight Categories of Paintings)", "Kashien gaden (Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual)", "Jichikusai Shogafu (Ten Bamboo Studio Collection of Calligraphy and Painting)", "Gazenshitsu zuihitsu (Views Zenshitsu Essay)" which influenced Japanese Nanga artists. In addition, I will catalogue the Japanese Nanga painting collections at the British Museum, building a database of techniques, materials, seals, and regions to understand the influence of each artist. In terms of potential applications, one aim is to discover trading routes of pigments and materials between China and Japan. There will also be opportunities to identify, through scientific analysis, forgeries attributed to master Chinese and/or Japanese artists. Furthermore, identification of lightsensitive colourants will inform display lighting conditions for future exhibitions. This project will allow a cultural sector organization to understand better the resources/artefacts that it holds, and to allow audiences to understand the significance of these artefacts. There are opportunities for public engagement and an exhibition at the Ashmolean and for contributing to the British Museum website and public talks at the British Museum. I also aim to present my research at relevant conferences, e.g. International Council of Museums, Japan Art History Forum, Institute of Conservation.