What does a meeting with a dragon mean for your future?

“Soaring dragons, dancing phoenixes” is an old Chinese saying about harmonious things. The saying is the title of the exhibit, which has recently opened at the National Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum of Art. The exposition shows art, embroidery, and sculpture of the 18th-20th centuries. “This exhibit doesn’t overload the visitors with reflections. We decided simply to present a show – nice and interesting things for observation. We don’t want to look arrogant, instead we want to play a bit,” Marta Lohvyn, the leading research fellow of the Khanenko Museum and curator of the project explains the idea.

SYMBOLISM

The artistic codices used to adorn the chambers of nobility and served as amulets. Every animal is symbolizing something. For example, a monkey, which is the symbol of 2016, according to Oriental calendar, if it is depicted together with bees or wasps, it means an encoded wish of successful career. But sometimes this plot implied an irony, referring to people who are looking for trouble.

A DRAGON ROBE CREATED AT THE END OF THE 19th – THE BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURIES IS AN ELEMENT OF A THEATER COSTUME. TO WEAR SUCH CLOTHES EMBROIDERED WITH GOLD AND SILK IS ALSO AN ART / Photo by Borys KORPUSENKO

A mighty dragon is a symbol of the emperor’s power. According to the Chinese beliefs, a dragon sent life-giving rain. Actually, all the creatures you can see at the exhibit “Soaring Dragons, Dancing Phoenixes” mean welfare and harmony.

TECHNIQUE

A line lies in the groundwork of Chinese painting. The artists used the color carefully, not always coloring the background. Besides, the artists almost never did sketches, so they needed to have exemplary accuracy of moves. They usually used brushes, but sometimes experimented with the techniques. For example, the formidable dragon on one of the works at the exposition was painted literally by fingers by the 18th century artist Tan Dai.

SOME INTRIGUE

Chinese artists often copied ancient works. This has preserved the plots of famous artists till nowadays. Such thing happened to the picture Horses Brought as Tribute, which is on display at the exhibit. The work was created back in the 19th century, but this is a copy of the codex dated 13th century. The image shows how the Chinese imagined the representatives of other races in ancient times: the picture shows an African, an Arab, an Indian, and a European, who are leading horses as a present for the Mongol conquerors. And this is not the only highlight of the exhibit “Soaring Dragons, Dancing Phoenixes.” You are welcome to see a lot of worthy plots from the Chinese art at the Khanenko Museum till the beginning of February.