How to Read Chinese Paintings

$29.95 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

By Maxwell K. Hearn The Chinese way of appreciating a painting is often expressed by the words du hua , "to read a painting." Because art is a visual language, words alone cannot adequately convey its expressive dimension. How to Read Chinese Paintings seeks to visually analyze 36 paintings and calligraphies from the encyclopedic collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in order to elucidate what makes each a masterpiece. Author Maxwell K. Hearn's elegantly erudite yet readable text discusses each work in…