Review by Choice Review
This bilingual work is the delightful product of collaboration between the Museum Rietberg in Zurich and the Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Art). The result is a major exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints on the theme of feminine beauty. Edited by Epprecht, the catalogue features an introduction to the Honolulu collection of prints (Eichman), and essays titled "The Development of Bijinga until the Mid-Nineteenth Century" (Andreas Marks) and "From Idealized Visions to Realistic Impressions: The Changing Nature of Bijinga" (John Szostak). These very scholarly essays effectively trace the history of prints on the theme from Kaigetsud Dohan and Okumura Masanbu to the contemporary Tabaimo. Each of the 100-plus works exhibited (mainly from the Honolulu collection) is beautifully illustrated and accompanied by an entry that includes translations of poetry and other inscriptions, along with valuable historical context. The catalogue includes biographies (with charming small illustrations) of each of the artists, a list of the works exhibited, and an invaluable bibliography. This is a work of superb scholarship, indispensable for research, connoisseurship, and art historical enlightenment on a fascinating and enduring Japanese theme. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. C. Scott McDaniel College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
