Catalogue of the Feinberg collection of Japanese art /

Saunders (curator of Asian Art, Harvard Art Museums) has put together a lavish catalogue of the entire collection of Japanese art acquired by Robert Feinberg and Betsy Feinberg over more than 50 years and then donated (in 2013) to the Harvard Art Museums. Harvard students and scholars have worked on this collection for more than a decade. The volume is published in conjunction with Saunders and Yukio Lippet's catalogue of the exhibition Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection (CH, Sep'20, 58-0023)​, and taken together the two volumes offer a comprehensive, scholarly study of the more than 300 paintings from the Edo period (1615--1868). Arranged alphabetically by artist, catalogue entries include descriptions of seals, signatures, translations of poetry and colophons, investigations into influences and iconography, and excellent illustrations of each work of art. Edo-period Japanese paintings were strongly influenced by Chinese artists and styles, especially those of the literati, and the contributors to the present volume investigated all these paths, creating a vivid picture of cultural migrations and overlaps. Though devoted almost exclusively to painting, the Feinberg collection also includes 14 works of medieval and modern Buddhist and Shinto sculpture, and this volume does not neglect these. Indispensable for scholars, connoisseurs, curators, students, and lovers of Japanese arts and culture. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. --Susan Clare Scott, emerita, McDaniel College, now retired with emerita status