When Oriental or Asian art first hit the shores of Europe and America it brought a fresh perspective to art movements that were exploring new themes and techniques. Although the peoples of the Asian continent had developed art methods similar to those found in the history of Western art, like the lost wax technique in sculpture and the development of an understanding of perspective, the results were different than those of their Western counterparts. Art historians attribute these differences to an art culture in the countries of Asia that grew up in the influence of their Asian neighbors, but apart from Europe.
Islamic Art
According to Lois Fichner-Rathus in "Understanding Art," the art of the Middle East encompasses the art of the countries touched by the Islamic religion, including Iran, the Byzantine Empire and even Egyptian art. Architecture played an important role in Islamic art. The Great Mosque at Samarra, Iraq is an example of this. In addition to architecture, Islamic crafts such as Persian rugs, ceramics, enameled glass, manuscript illumination and embellished metal works count as the legacy of this influence in Oriental art.
India
The landmass of India once included Pakistan, Bangladesh and the states in between China and India. As such, Indian art at various times through the course of history shows the influences of those cultures and the religions of those countries. Influences from the Vedic, Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic religions can be seen in Indian art. Figures of Shiva, the god of creation as well as the jakshi, a female earth spirit, are examples of some of the subjects portrayed in Indian art.
Like Western art, religious themes and the gods play an important role in art, but with a stark difference. Because of the influence of Hinduism, eroticism in art, which even includes the gods, is a predominant theme. The Taj Mahal offers a famous example of architecture in India and shows the Islamic influence on art in India.
China
The art of China dates back almost 4,000 years. Like the art of India, the Chinese art felt the influence of religion and philosophy. Confucianism---and Buddhism, which was introduced to China via Indian missionaries---played a major part in the development of Chinese art. Chinese artists explored magical realms as their subject and created landscape paintings, which reflected not only this theme, but also the Chinese understanding of perspective in art. However, the vanishing point as it's understood in Western art did not exist in Chinese art. Pottery of the Ming Dynasty as well as Chinese ink painting offer other examples of Chinese art.
Japan
Japanese art developed in the manner that it did in part because of its natural resources, according to Fichner-Rathus. Because Japan sits on porous volcanic rock that cannot be formed into anything solid, this affected the way Japanese sculpture developed. Clay modeling and bronze casting as well as wooden sculptures were the norm in Japanese art history. Additionally, the mandala, a religious symbol, which represents the universe's design, was a popular motif in Japanese art history. Finally, the Japanese wood block prints were important not only in Japan, but later in the West as well.
Modern Art
Modern art felt the influence of Asian art especially that of Japanese wood block prints. According to the New York Times, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Art Nouveau styles of art all owe a cultural debt to Oriental art and Japanese art specifically.
