The Zen Mona Lisa
A review of an ancient Chinese ink painting takes an art critic on a journey through his own past.
Every summer, Jonah compiled a list of about a hundred upcoming museum exhibitions for the newspaper's special fall preview section. Among them, one that left a lasting impression, was a famous Chinese ink painting of still life persimmons. This exhibit was part of a brief visit to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco by a Japanese monastery that had acquired the piece when it was already nearly 300 years old.
Jonah mentioned the show to his editor as one he'd like to cover, emphasizing its unprecedented travel and his affinity for Asian art. While the art section didn't have a travel budget left for the year due to the expenses of covering the war in Ukraine, Jonah decided to go see it regardless. He was planning to stay with his cousin, and found a cheap flight using credit card points.
Jonah's trip was mostly uneventful, but he mentioned his upcoming journey to various people, amused to present himself as a person whose job allowed him to travel.
Written by urgent.news from Hyperallergic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
