tessenbyou　鉄線描

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Ch: tiexianmiao. Lit. iron-wire line drawing. A technique used to render the thin, even lines, commonly seen in paintings of Buddhist deities. Tessenbyou lines are taut and basically unmodulated, serving primarily to outline and define shapes in a descriptive rather than an expressive manner. The lines are usually painted in red *shu 朱 and accompanied by flat application of pigment within the outlined forms. Weichi Yiseng (Jp: Utchi Ossou 尉遅乙僧, late 7c-early 8c) of Khotan, an ancient country in Central Asia, who resided in China during the early Tang dynasty, is said to have used a type of iron-wire line, perhaps derived from Buddhist painting in India and Central Asia. Iron-wire line drawing became widespread in Japan during the Nara and Heian periods. One of the most famous examples of tessenbyou in Japan is the wall painting of Houryuuji *Kondou 法隆寺金堂, Nara, largely damaged by fire in 1949. It is one of the eighteen types of figural portrayal *jinbutsu juuhachibyou 人物十八描.

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