Splendid Impressions: Japanese Secular Painting 1400-1900, in the Museum of East Asian Art Cologne

Published in an oversized format (10x12"), this handsome volume, filled with full-page and several fold-out color plates of screens, showcases the superlative collection of Japanese art in the Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne, Germany (which co-published the book). Two essays, on attitudes towards East Asian art in imperial Germany and medieval Japanese monk painters, precede the catalog, which is organized by painting type, including ink landscapes and the floating world. Despite the "secular" of the volume's title, a number of Zen monk paintings are included. Hotei is an imprint of Brill. Annotation 穢2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)