‘Feathers, Flowers’ at RISD

Here’s my review of the RISD Museum's “Feathers, Flowers, Talons and Fangs: Power and Serenity in Japanese Nature Prints,” an exhibit of Edo woodcuts that’s so wonderfully serene that it gets, well, a bit boring. I also touch on the museum's “Nuance in Nature: Birds and Flowers in Japanese Textiles,” which has some dazzling robes and kimonos.

Pictured are Katsushika Hokusai’s "Cranes and Pines in Snow" (c. 1834) and a late 19th-early 20th century kimono.


“Feathers, Flowers, Talons and Fangs: Power and Serenity in Japanese Nature Prints,” RISD Museum, 224 Benefit St., Providence, Feb. 2 to June 10, 2007.