Jan Fontein (22 May 1927 – 19 May 2017) was a Dutch art historian and former museum director. From 1966 to 1992 he served as curator of Asiatic art at the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

. Fontein was its director from 1975 to 1987.

Career

Fontein was born on 22 May 1927 in

Naarden Naarden () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and former List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Gooi region in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been part ...

. From 1945 to 1953 he studied far eastern languages and Indonesian archaeology at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

. In 1947 Fontein started working as assistant curator at the Museum of Asiatic Art in Amsterdam. In 1955 he became curator of the same museum. In 1966 Fontein obtained his PhD under Theodoor Paul Galestin at Leiden University, with a dissertation titled: ''The Pilgrimage of Sudhana, A Study of Gandavyþha illustrations in China, Japan, and Java''. That same year Fontein moved to the United States, where he became curator of Asian Art at the

. He was director of the Museum from 1975 to 1987. He laid down his position as curator in 1992. From 1990 to 1996 Fontein was Bishop White Visiting Scholar at the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

. Fontein was elected a correspondent of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 1967. He was made commander in the Japanese

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

. Fontein died in

Newton Upper Falls Newton Upper Falls is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Massachusetts, United States. The village is listed as the Newton Upper Falls Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Geography The area ...

on 19 May 2017, aged 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontein, Jan 1927 births 2017 deaths Directors of museums in the United States Dutch art historians Dutch art curators Leiden University alumni Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Naarden