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ÆSTHETIC JAPAN

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Foremost among the arts of Japan, both relatively and as the key which is necessary to understanding and appreciation of the others, is painting. It is an art differing in many respects from that of the European schools of painting, but not less worthy of serious consideration, and in certain qualities it ranks supreme. To those who have seen the masterpieces preserved among the temple treasures, or hidden in the collections of Japanese noblemen, and have felt their grandeur and charm, this will seem far short of over-statement. In the West, however, there is little opportunity to gauge the achievements of the great Japanese painters,^[1] and it is even possible to spend a lifetime in Japan and remain in ignorance thereof.

Japanese critics have always considered painting to be a form of poetry. The painter therefore strives to represent the soul of things rather than their visible forms. Not that he scorns realism, indeed he is often minutely realistic in a way that is unapproachable; but realism with him is only incidental, his main purpose being to produce a poem in form and color. To this end all irrelevant details are neces-

↑ The principal collections of Japanese paintings in America are the Fenollosa collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and that of Mr. Charles L. Freer, of Detroit. A few fine works are owned by Mr. Henry O. Havemeyer, Mr. Howard Mansfield, and Mr. C. D. Weldon, of New York; Mr. Denman Ross, Mr. Quincy A. Shaw, and Mrs. John Gardner, of Boston; Mr. Charles J. Morse, of Uniontown, Pa.; and Mr. Frederick W. Gookin, of Chicago. In England the most notable collections are those of the British Museum and Mr. Arthur Morrison, of Loughton. There are also a number of private collections in France and Germany.

[1] The principal collections of Japanese paintings in America are the Fenollosa collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and that of Mr. Charles L. Freer, of Detroit. A few fine works are owned by Mr. Henry O. Havemeyer, Mr. Howard Mansfield, and Mr. C. D. Weldon, of New York; Mr. Denman Ross, Mr. Quincy A. Shaw, and Mrs. John Gardner, of Boston; Mr. Charles J. Morse, of Uniontown, Pa.; and Mr. Frederick W. Gookin, of Chicago. In England the most notable collections are those of the British Museum and Mr. Arthur Morrison, of Loughton. There are also a number of private collections in France and Germany.

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