Enchanted by Lohans : Osvald Sireþn's journey into Chinese art /
Minna Törmä.
- Hong Kong : Hong Kong University Press, (c)2013.
- 1 online resource (1 PDF (xvii, 224 pages) :) : illustrations
Includes bibliographies and index.
Preface -- Acknowledgements -- In the Forbidden City -- The beginnings of the journey -- Enchanted by Lohans in Boston -- The Golden Pavilion -- The expedition that lasted too long -- The fruits of the 1921-23 expedition -- To go or not to go back to Stockholm -- Language lessons and curio dealers -- Enhancing the Asian Collection in the Nationalmuseum -- The garden as a refuge -- Afterword -- Appendix I. Biographies -- Appendix II. Itineraries -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.
Finnish-Swedish art historian Osvald Siren (1879--1966) was one of the pioneers of Chinese art scholarship in the West. This biography focuses on his four major voyages to East Asia: 1918, 1921--1923, 1929--1930, and 1935. This was a pivotal period in Chinese archaeology, art studies, and the formation of Western collections of Chinese art. Siren gained international renown as a scholar of Italian art, particularly with his books on Leonardo da Vinci and Giotto. Yet when he was almost forty years old, he became captivated by Chinese art (paintings of Lohans in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston) to such an extent that he decided to start his career anew --