Along the riverbank : Chinese painting from the C.C. Wang family collection /

This study of 12 Chinese paintings includes a 56-page analysis of the title painting, Riverbank, by Dong Yuan (active c. 930-60), and an 89-page overview of all 12 paintings. The treatment of Riverbank by Fong (curator, Chinese Painting, MMA; Princeton Univ.) is a fine example of critical analysis and, as such, possibly the book's most valuable part. By analyzing the painting in relation to other early Song landscapes (e.g., by Fan Kuan and Guo Xi), along with discussing the role of paintings as architectural decoration and the development of monumental landscapes, Fong quite firmly establishes this painting as a critical work in the evolution of Chinese painting--a position long recognized but sometimes debated by other scholars. The second part, by Hearn (curator, Asian Department, MMA), examines the 12 paintings, which range from the tenth to 18th centuries and include landscapes, figure paintings, and bamboo and bird paintings, with comparisons. The attendant parts augment the two main essays in important ways: a five-page appendix on the physical and documentary evidence related to Riverbank; a nine-page catalog of curatorial data including Chinese inscriptions with English translation; a large bibliography (some 200 entries); and an index of art and artists. Excellent color plates; 87 black-and-white illustrations. Strongly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. D. K. Haworth; Carleton College