SEP 2011
VOLUME 42 - NUMBER 6
Three features in this issue explore the diversity of brush, ink and colour. Coinciding with an exhibition of Indian paintings at the Met, John Guy shows how the emperor Akbar’s patronage of artists resulted in a painting revolution that crossed geographical, cultural and religious divides. Anita Chung looks at the work of one of modern China’s most celebrated painters, Fu Baoshi, the focus of an exhibition at The Cleveland Museum of Art. As a timely tribute to James Cahill, who celebrated his 85th birthday this summer, J. P. Park − with insights from Cahill himself − recalls the creation of the ‘Train Scroll’, an art-historical parody presented as a birthday gift to the late Max Loehr in 1952.
In other features, John Johnston looks at 18th century highlights of an historic exhibition of Chinese jade at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Konstanze Knittler presents her research on the famille-noire porcelain admired by 19th century Western collectors. Robert P. Piccus shares some insights into the collecting of Tibetan rugs.
In addition to tributes to renowned art-world figures Carla Grissman and MF Husain, we have reviews of two important books on Chinese monochromes and Indonesian textiles, respectively. We also look back at a recent symposium in Hong Kong on Chinese export porcelain and last May’s ART HK. Leslie Nguyen Temple tells the story behind a modern-day monumental silk thangka.
Reviews of the spring auctions in the US, Europe, China and Hong Kong gauge the state of the flourishing Asian art market. In our commentary, Marc Wilson considers the appeal of art museums in an age where audiences are conditioned to instant gratification.
FEATURES
Leslie Nguyen Temple. The Karma Gadri Thangka of Tsurphu
Konstanze Knittler. Fakes or Reinventions? Famille-noire Porcelains in 19th Century British Collecting
John Johnston. 18th Century Chinese Jade in the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum
J. P. Park with James Cahill. Max Loehr, James Cahill and the Flying Dragon: A Moment in Chinese Art History
Anita Chung. Modern Master Fu Baoshi (1904-65)
John Guy. Wonder of the Age: Painting, Patronage and Global Vision in Early Mughal India
PREVIEWS & REVIEWS
David Henkel. Book Review: Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles: The Mary Hunt Kahlenberg Collection, edited by Ruth Barnes and Mary Hunt Kahlenberg, DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2010
Virginia L. Bower. Book Review: The Monochrome Principle: Lacquerware and Ceramics of the Song and Qing Dynasties, edited by Monika Kopplin, Munich, 2009
INTERVIEWS
An Interview with Robert P. Piccus
NEWS
Mary-Ann Milford-Lutzker. Obituary: MF Husain (1915-2011)
John Eskenazi. Obituary: Carla Grissman (1928-2011)
COMMENTARY
Marc Wilson. Commentary: Contemplation in the Age of the Instant