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 尉遅乙僧 (Jp: Utchi Ossou, 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 the Kondou 金堂 of Houryuuji 法隆寺, Nara, largely damaged by fire in 1949. It is one of the 18 types of figural portrayal, *jinbutsu juuhachibyou 人物十八描.

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