Charles W. Bartlett's Woodblock Print Gateway To Ming Tombs
Last month, while wandering around Ginza, I happened to come across a woodblock print from over a hundred years ago--Gateway To Ming Tombs--at Watanabe Print Shop.
According to the shop owner, Mr. Shoichiro Watanabe (the grandson of the founder, Shozaburo Watanabe),
the artist, Bartlett, was a British painter who visited China in the early Republic era and originally created this piece as an oil or watercolor painting.
Later, he came to Tokyo and collaborated with Watanabe Print Shop to produce a series of woodblock prints, including Gateway To Ming Tombs.
Since this particular piece was made as a personal commission for Bartlett, very few copies were ever circulated on the market, making surviving prints extremely rare.
At the time, I didn't think too much about it--just that it was a rare find--so I decided to purchase it for a high price.
After returning home, I did some further research online, and here is a summary of what I found.
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1 Introduction from Google Arts & Culture
Gateway To Ming Tombs Charles W. Bartlettca. 1916
Title: Gateway To Ming Tombs
Creator: Artist: Charles W. Bartlett, Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Date Created: ca. 1916
Location: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Historical Period: Taisho era
Credit Line: Robert O. Muller Collection
Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
2 Introduction from Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art
Gateway To Ming Tombs
Artist: Charles W. Bartlett (1860-1940)
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo 渡邊庄三郎 (Japan, 1885-1962)
Collection: National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Origin: Japan
Credit Line: Robert O. Muller Collection
Type: Print
3 Introduction from Library of Congress
Peking, gateway to Ming tombs / CWB.
Names: Bartlett, Charles William, 1860-1940, artist
Created / Published: [c1919]
Headings: - Gates--China--Beijing--1910-1920
Headings: Woodcuts--Color--1910-1920.
Genre: Woodcuts--Color--1910-1920
Notes
- K133952 U.S. Copyright Office.
- Signed with monogram: CWB; titled on block.
Medium 1 print : woodcut, color.
Call Number/Physical Location FP - XIX - Barlett (C.) no. 12 (B size) [P&P]
Repository Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Digital Id cph 3g02060 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3g02060
Library of Congress Control Number 92512973
Reproduction Number LC-USZC4-2060 (color film copy transparency)
Online Format image
LCCN Permalink https://lccn.loc.gov/92512973
4 Charles W. Bartlett From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
5 Analysis of Artistic Features from ChatGPT
This artwork, Gateway to Ming Tombs, is a print created by British artist Charles W. Bartlett (1860-1940) and published by the renowned Japanese print publisher Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962). The piece is part of the Shin-hanga movement, which combines traditional Japanese ukiyo-e techniques with Western painting styles, particularly in the use of light, shadow, and perspective.
Analysis of Artistic Features:
1. Shin-hanga Style and Ukiyo-e Tradition:
• The work inherits the printmaking techniques of ukiyo-e, such as delicate lines, block color fills, and the use of rich, layered colors.
• Published by Watanabe Shozaburo, it aligns with the Shin-hanga emphasis on high-quality hand printing and modern aesthetic values.
2. Color and Gradation:
• The sky and distant mountains in the image display a subtle color gradient (Bokashi ぼかし), a common color blending technique in Shin-hanga that adds depth to the image.
• The sky transitions from blue to orange, creating a dusk or dawn atmosphere that enhances the sense of tranquility in the scene.
3. Light, Shadow, and Western Painting Influence:
• Bartlett, influenced by Western painting, employs perspective in the scene, such as the depth of the gateway and the varying sizes of objects, giving the scene a more three-dimensional feel.
• The cool blue tones of the distant background and the warm tones in the foreground create an atmospheric perspective, enhancing spatial depth.
4. Theme and Fusion of Eastern Culture:
• The image depicts the large stone gateway leading to the Ming Tombs in Beijing, a symbol rich in Chinese cultural significance.
• The figures and camel caravans in the composition reflect everyday life in northern China at the time, blending Eastern charm with a documentary quality.
5. Composition and Balance:
• The symmetrical structure of the gateway forms a stable visual center, while the arrangement of figures, camels, and trees breaks the symmetry, adding liveliness to the scene.
• The low-angle (upward view) perspective enhances the grandeur of the gateway, while the lower horizon line allows the sky to dominate the composition, emphasizing a sense of expansiveness.
Summary:
This artwork demonstrates Charles W. Bartlett's artistic style, combining Japanese Shin-hanga techniques, Western light and perspective, and Chinese cultural elements. It retains the fine craftsmanship of traditional ukiyo-e while incorporating Western realism and spatial treatments, making it a unique and cross-cultural artistic creation.
6 Introduction to the Stone Archway of the Ming Tombs
The Stone Archway of the Ming Tombs (hereafter referred to as the "Stone Archway") is located at the southernmost end of the imperial mausoleum complex, near Jiantou Village in Changping, next to "Shipaifang Village." It serves as the first grand entrance to the Ming Tombs.
Constructed in 1540 (the 19th year of the Jiajing Emperor's reign during the Ming Dynasty), the archway is made of white marble and designed to resemble traditional wooden architecture. It features five gates, six pillars, and eleven roofs, standing 14 meters high and nearly 30 meters wide, making it the largest and best-preserved stone archway of its kind in China.
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Architectural Features
According to information found on Perplexity, the Stone Archway follows a traditional Chinese wooden beam structure in stone form. It stands 14 meters tall and spans 28.86 meters in width, supported by six solid stone pillars, each with a diameter of 1.2 meters.
Each pillar extends 3 meters underground for stability, while the base adopts the Sumeru pedestal (須彌座) design. The upper part of the structure is joined using traditional mortise-and-tenon connections, incorporating beam frames (額枋), carved brackets (雀替), and interlocking wooden joints (斗拱), all meticulously crafted from stone.
A remarkable feature is that the four central pillars are slightly inclined inward by 5 degrees using a technique called "side-footing" (侧脚). This subtle inward tilt enhances the structural stability, demonstrating an innovative application of traditional Chinese seismic-resistant wooden architecture principles to stone construction--an outstanding example of Ming-era craftsmanship.
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Ornamental Details
The surface of the Stone Archway is covered with intricate relief carvings, featuring motifs such as:
• Cloud-dragons (云龙纹)
• Treasure floral patterns (宝相花纹)
• Auspicious mythical creatures (瑞兽图案)
At the center of the main horizontal beam, an inscription in bold and solemn seal script reads:
"Daming Changling Shengong Shende" (大明长陵神功圣德), meaning "The Divine Merits and Sacred Virtues of the Changling Mausoleum of the Great Ming Dynasty."
The roofs follow a hipped-gable (歇山顶) design, with all eleven roof sections carved in detail, including:
• Tubular tiles (筒瓦)
• Ornate end tiles with dripping water designs (勾头滴水)
• Hanging stone bell ornaments at the eaves
Traces of ancient polychrome painting remain, indicating that the original archway was decorated primarily in blue-green tones, with gold leaf applied to the beam surfaces, creating a stunning "golden lines on a blue background" effect.
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Symbolic and Ritual Significance
As the first architectural structure along the sacred way (神道) leading to the Ming Tombs, the Stone Archway serves a crucial spatial and ceremonial function.
• The five-gate design reflects the imperial protocol of "Five Gates for the Son of Heaven", emphasizing the emperor's supreme authority.
• The central three gates were exclusively reserved for the passage of imperial coffins, reinforcing strict hierarchical distinctions in Ming Dynasty funerary traditions.
From an architectural psychology perspective, the monumental 14-meter height creates a powerful visual impact, evoking awe and reverence in visitors. This spatial experience was deliberately designed to reinforce the political ideology of "Divine Right of Kings" (君权神授).
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Engineering Innovations and Legacy
The construction of the Stone Archway marked a significant milestone in Ming Dynasty stone craftsmanship, particularly in the transition from wooden to stone architecture.
• The structure employed the "cantilevered eaves with reduced columns" (挑檐减柱) method to address the inherent brittleness of stone.
• The beam height was increased to enhance bending resistance, ensuring greater structural durability.
These engineering innovations later influenced the design of stone archways in the Qing Dynasty, particularly those found in the Eastern Qing Tombs (清东陵) and Western Qing Tombs (清西陵), demonstrating continuity and evolution in Chinese imperial mausoleum architecture.
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