Ming Yu's "Travel on the Silk Road"

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Art Reflection Paper
 
Ming, Yu. “Travel on the Silk Road early 20^th Century.” Metropolitan Museum, n.d.
 
The art Travel on the Silk Road by Yu Ming found in the Metropolitan Museum is a unique yet straightforward painting with a beautiful view. It takes the shape of a hand-held fan, making it a typical representation of the people’s ways of life. However, the artist embeds other images that provoke the audience’s thoughts to critique the work and connect with its historical past. As indicated by the painter, the art integrates elements that represent a popular account of the experiences of Lady Wenji in the second to third century AD (Ming). A review of the art indicates the presence of actual figures. One is a camel, while the other is an image of a woman in a tent looking towards the steppes. The image also includes an expansive snowy landscape to illustrate the region’s environmental conditions in the art’s context. The extensive use of the color grey in this piece stirs the sad emotion, compounded by the lonely figure of the woman in a tent. As a result, the selection of objects, their positioning, and color assists Ming in using this art in narrating a sad story to some extent.
Yu Ming’s work reflected the popular Asian arts in the 20^th century. They historically represented events through paintings that closely resemble the calligraphy techniques using colored ink brushes on silk. However, they also used paper to express themselves by incorporating court-type images. As a Chinese artist, Ming could have drawn significant influence and inspiration from early 1884 to 1935 artistic movements (Ming). As a result, this art’s simplicity represents the creative techniques of this period in China and, perhaps, the more prominent Asia. It uses central figures to display the life practices while e...