Smile of the Buddha : Eastern Philosophy and Western Art from Monet to Today
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Smile of the Buddha explores the influences of Asian world-views and particularly Buddhism on the art of Europe and America in the modern era. In an informative and perceptive introduction and essays on twenty well-known artists, Jacquelynn Baas analyzes how the teachings of the Buddha offered alternatives to Western intellectual conceptions of art and traces the various ways this inspiration materialized in artworks. The influence of Buddhism on art from the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the present has been greater than historians and critics generally recognize, Baas claims. Considering essential questions about the relationship of art and life, this timely and beautifully illustrated book expands our perspective on how spirituality and creativity inspire and inform one another. Baas's insights and the images she presents give the reader a new understanding and appreciation of a diverse array of Western artworks.
From the Back Cover
"The relations between eastern and western cultures have long been a neglected topic, and this careful and intelligent look at a small but significant part of those relations is most welcome."--Thomas McEvilley, author of The Shape of Ancient Thought
"How wonderful that Jacquelynn Baas has seen the light of the Buddha's smile shining from faraway Asia into the realm of the art of modern times in what we think of as the West! . . . Her work reveals how some of our most influential artists explored and expressed the sophisticated perceptions and joyful energy emanating from the realm of Buddhist Asia."--Robert A. F. Thurman
Smile of the Buddha : Eastern Philosophy and Western Art from Monet to Today
Smile of the Buddha : Eastern Philosophy and Western Art from Monet to Today,Jacquelynn Baas,Robert A. F. Thurman,University of California Press,0520242084,20th century,Art,Art and philosophy,Arts, Modern,Buddhist influences,Criticism,Europe,General,History - General,History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945),Religion - Contemporary Issues,Art / General
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