Central Roof Paintings:From Dome Murals to Caisson Ceiling Paintings——Comparison of Civilizations in Foreign Regions,the Western Regions,and the Dunhuang Caves
Focusing on the differences between the caisson ceiling paintings in the caves of Dunhuang and the dome paint-ings in foreign countries and the Western Regions,this paper analyzes the unique characteristics of these artistic styles and dis-cusses the reasons why dome paintings depicting deities and human beings are extremely rare in Dunhuang caves.In addition,this study concludes that the caisson ceiling paintings in Dunhuang caves were likely related to the roof structure of the flat ceil-ings of Indian caves and the triangular ceilings in caves in Afghanistan,and that the dome paintings commonly found in the caves of Bamiyan,Kucha and Turfan,as well the spatial structure used to create them,were not disseminated into China beyond Dun-huang.The caisson ceiling paintings in Dunhuang caves were developed from the artistic conventions of the Northern Dynas-ties,the Sui dynasty and the early Tang dynasty;as well as the highly"static"design style of the Middle Tang period and the com-plex but frequently copied decoration of the Late Tang.The realistic rendering of the figures in the ceiling paintings at Dunhuang is obviously quite different from those painted on vaulted ceilings in foreign countries.The style of ceiling paintings from this time limited the innovation possible in later generations of caisson paintings,lacked the creativity activated by mixing with for-eign cultures,and had the overall effect of inhibiting the evolution and advancement of new artistic developments.
vaulted ceiling paintingscaisson ceiling paintingsforeign lands and the Western RegionsDunhuang cavesdissemination of civilizations
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
