Early Chinese Landscape Painting lectures by James Cahill

[realmayo]

James Cahill was a big-name art historian who wrote loads on Chinese art. His last big project before dying last year was a long series of lectures to camera on early Chinese landscape painting. They're online and free. On youtube. Full of paintings and close-ups. It's fairly heavy but as someone who knows nothing about the topic I've still found it accessible. I'm about 6 hours in, I think there's a full 40 hours in total! I'm enjoying them enough to think I'll finish the set.

 

The first hour was more about him and former colleagues, then he moved on to actual paintings. His plan is to keep it all very visual. 

 

So in case anyone else is interested: http://jamescahill.info/a-pure-and-remote-view

 

This videotaped and moving-image lecture series, conceived by UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus James Cahill, is a legacy of his life's work in the history of the visual arts of China. Composed of short introductions and over 2,200 detailed high-resolution images of selected Chinese paintings and works of pictorial art from the early period up to the end of the Song dynasty in the late thirteenth century, this series was written and narrated entirely by Professor Cahill. For ease of viewing, the lectures contain chapter markers identifying the major works of art discussed. In addition, the names of some artists and works are given in pinyin and traditional and simplified Chinese characters. Lecture notes, which provide further information on the topics discussed as well as suggested readings, accompany the video files.

[Shelley]

Excellent stuff, thanks for the link.