Past Exhibitions

The Lotus Sutra in Japan

GALLERY 2740 | EAST ASIAN BUDDHIST ART

Lotus Sutra (Hokke-kyô) Chapter 12: Section Describing the Enlightenment of the Dragon King's Daughter
Sacred scriptures that contain the teachings of the Buddha are known as sutras. The Lotus Sutra stands out among the many hundreds of sutras as arguably the most popular and best known of all Buddhist scriptures in East Asia. Originally composed in Idia in the first century CE, the Lotus Sutra reached Japan by the late sixthy century.

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Art Exhibition: IRRESOLUTION: The Paintings of Yoshiaki Shimizu

Date: Thursday, September 7, 2017 (All day) to Tuesday, October 31, 2017 (All day)
Location: Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse Gallery, CGIS South Bldg., 1730 Cambridge St.


September 27 (Wednesday) Special Events:
3:00 - 4:00pm Gallery Tour with Artist Yoshiaki Shimizu
Location: Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse Gallery

4:00 - 5:00pm Presentation by Curator Yukio Lippit, Professor of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University, in conversation with Artist Yoshiaki Shimizu
Location: Tsai Auditorium S010

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Maruyama-Shijō Painting from the Feinberg Collection

GALLERY 2600 | EAST ASIAN ART

Maruyama Deer NewIn 1603, the new shogun moved the capital from the imperial city of Kyoto to Edo (present-day Tokyo) in the east. This change also led to the removal of the monopolistic Kano School of painters from Kyoto to Edo. The Kano specialized in large-scale ink-and-polychrome paintings on gold, and their substantial academic lineage was carefully maintained through a system of teaching strictly by copying from painting manuals. ... Read more about Maruyama-Shijō Painting from the Feinberg Collection

Nanga Painting from the Feinberg Collection

GALLERY 2600 | EAST ASIAN ART

“Nanga” literally translates as “Southern painting.” It is the Japanese rendering of the original Chinese term used to refer to intentionally unpolished amateur painting. In China these paintings were produced by scholar-gentlemen (Ch. wenren; Jp. bunjin) who shied away from politics and commerce to immerse themselves in mastering classical literature, calligraphy, music, painting, poetry, and philosophy, and to cultivate deep friendships. The paintings they produced aimed not at re-creating a superficial visual likeness, but at capturing the very essence of a subject.... Read more about Nanga Painting from the Feinberg Collection

Painting the Floating World: Ukiyo-e from the Feinberg Collection

GALLERY 2600 | EAST ASIAN ART

Harvesting Bamboo Shoots in WinterBy 1750, the city of Edo, known today as Tokyo, was one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of more than a million. Its inhabitants lived within a tightly regulated class system that favored the ruling warrior class and relegated merchants to a position just above outcast. Almost every aspect of daily life, from occupation and residence to the items of clothing a person could wear, was dictated by these class divisions. Nevertheless, radical imbalances developed as merchants accrued financial wealth inaccessible to the ruling class. In response, vibrant theater and red-light districts emerged, providing outlets from the regulated austerity of everyday life in the capital.... Read more about Painting the Floating World: Ukiyo-e from the Feinberg Collection

Idealized Images: Depictions of Women in Later Chinese and Korean Paintings

GALLERY 2600 | EAST ASIAN ART

Follower of Leng MeiAs subjects in Chinese and Korean paintings, women appear in numerous guises—from deities and mothers to court ladies and courtesans. The goal of figure painting in East Asia was not the celebration of the human form, as it was in Western art, but the presentation of paragons of wisdom and virtue whose noble deeds and lofty attainments might inspire emulation.... Read more about Idealized Images: Depictions of Women in Later Chinese and Korean Paintings

Japanese Art from the Edo Period: The Feinberg Collection I

GALLERY 2600 | EAST ASIAN ART


Hishikawa MoronobuOffering an opportunity to view works from different painting traditions rarely exhibited together, these galleries feature objects representing the major schools and artistic movements of Japan from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. They come from the extraordinary collection of Robert and Betsy Feinberg, generously promised  to the museums.... Read more about Japanese Art from the Edo Period: The Feinberg Collection I

Japanese Art from the Edo Period: The Feinberg Collection II

GALLERY 2600 | EAST ASIAN ART

Tani BunchōOffering an opportunity to view works from different painting traditions rarely exhibited together, these galleries feature objects representing the major schools and artistic movements of Japan from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. They come from the extraordinary collection of Robert and Betsy Feinberg, generously promised  to the museums.... Read more about Japanese Art from the Edo Period: The Feinberg Collection II

East Asian Buddhist Art

GALLERY 2740 | EAST ASIAN BUDDHIST ART

Introduced to China in the first century, Buddhism promised its adherents ultimate escape from existential suffering. It also offered ritual techniques for achieving present-world benefits, such as military victory and relief from disease.... Read more about East Asian Buddhist Art