Artwork Page for Flowers and Trees of the Four Seasons

Details / Information for Flowers and Trees of the Four Seasons

Flowers and Trees of the Four Seasons

四季花木図屏風

early to mid-1700s

Watanabe Shikō 渡辺 始興

(Japanese, 1683–1755)
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Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, silver, and gilding on paper
Measurements
Each screen: 155 x 368.5 cm (61 x 145 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2021.132
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

One plant in these screens, tumeric, or ukon in Japanese, is found in Okinawa.

Description

The painter Watanabe Shikō had a special interest in scientific realism, based on interactions with his patron Konoe Iehiro. Shikō combined his attention to accurate depiction of plants with strong ink outlines and decorative elements like gold and silver, arriving at an innovative style that influenced many of his peers in the city of Kyoto.
Two six-panel folding screens depict seasonal plants and trees against shimmering gold-leaf backgrounds. In the top screen, a broad green leaf rises centrally near low-lying blossoms, while a tree with hanging flowers stands right. The bottom screen features a gnarled flowering tree on the left, nestled among tall grasses and colorful blooms. Throughout both compositions, mottled gold clouds and dark gray mists drift across the middle ground, unifying the decorative scenes.

Flowers and Trees of the Four Seasons

early to mid-1700s

Watanabe Shikō

(Japanese, 1683–1755)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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