CELEBRATING THE ARTS OF JAPAN

Celebrating the Arts of Japan – The Mary Griggs Burke Collection.

October 20, 2015–July 31, 2016 au Metropolitan Museum (Galleries 223-231).

This tribute to a great collector reveals the distinctive features of Japanese art as viewed through the lens of fifty years of collecting: the sublime spirituality of Buddhist and Shinto art; the boldness of Zen ink painting; the imaginary world conjured up by the Tale of Genji and classical Japanese literature; the sumptuous colors of bird-and-flower painting; the subtlety of poetry, calligraphy, and literati themes; the aestheticized accoutrements of the tea ceremony; and the charming portraiture of courtesans from the « floating world » (ukiyo-e).

Kaikei (Japanese, active 1183–1223). Fudō Myōō, early 13th century. Kamakura period (1185–1333). Japan. Lacquered Japanese cypress (hinoki), color, gold, and kirikane, inlaid with crystal; H. 21 in. (53.3 cm). ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of The Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.252)