Note | Art on the Jesuit missions in Asia and Latin America, 1542-1773 / Gauvin Alexander Bailey.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-286) and indexes.
" ... Jesuit missionaries ventured from Europe [to] Asia and Latin America, they brought with them the rich traditions of Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture. What happened to the artistic and social practices already thriving in the communities that the missionaries encountered is told by art historian and Jesuit specialist Gauvin Alexander Bailey.
The Jesuits, determined to convert both spiritually and culturally, put great effort into imparting their own artistic techniques and knowledge. At the same time they were unusually tolerant of the non-European cultures, making artistic accomodations in order to communicate with each particular society. The resulting hybridization was complex: German, Italian, and Flemish as well as the dominant Spanish and Portuguese idioms mingled with multiple Asian and Amerindian traditions.
Bailey argues that this cross-pollination of early modern art became the first truly global visual currency for cultural exchange. Through a sweeping look at Japan, China, Mughal India, and Paraguay, the author focuses on four of the most flourishing artistic encounters and discovers much unrecognized or misunderstood art. He overturns the simple thesis that art was imposed on subject cultures in favour of the more difficult paradigm of exchange. (100 illustrations and index)" --flyleaf.
[Chapter 4 concerns the China Mission]:
"With Much Gallantry and Ornamentation": the Jesuit Mission to China, 1561-1773.
Chinese context for cultural exchange -- Jesuit mission and the arts under Ricci -- Chinese reception of Jesuit mission art of the Ricci period -- Jesuit mission after Ricci -- Artistic acculturation after Ricci -- Jesuit artists at the Qing court -- Mission architecture in the Qing.
Added keywords: inculturation, church architecture, religious art, engraving, icons, cultural exchange. |