April 2, 2012 — The University of Virginia Art Museum will host John Rosenfield for an Ellen Bayard Weedon Lecture in the Arts of Asia on April 10. His lecture, "Sculpture and Painting from Hōzanji: Reassessing Later Japanese Buddhist Art," will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Campbell Hall, room 153.

Rosenfield's talk will trace the life and work of the Japanese Buddhist monk Tankai (1629–1718). Rising from humble origins, Tankai became head priest at the mountain temple of Hōzanji, near Nara, and spiritual minister to the nation's rulers. His name appears as the maker of at least 150 sculptures, paintings, woodblock prints, calligraphies and ritual implements, whose high aesthetic quality and social importance warrant a prominent place in the history and criticism of Japanese art.

Before he retired from Harvard University in 1991, Rosenfield chaired the Department of Fine Arts and was acting director of the Harvard University Art Museums. He was also a  trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and a member of the board of directors of the Japan Society of New York. He has organized national exhibitions of Japanese art and has lectured widely in museums and universities. His publications deal with Indian and Central Asian Buddhist arts of the Kushan period, Japanese Buddhist painting and sculpture, and Japanese painting of the medieval and the early modern periods.

The Weedon Lectures are made possible by support from the Ellen Bayard Weedon Foundation.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For information, call 434-243-2050 or e-mail museumoutreach@virginia.edu.