Anonymous artist of the Rimpa School
Flowers of the Four Seasons
Item number: T-2065RSize: H 65" x W 144.1" (165 x 366 cm)
Age: early 19th C
This fine pair of Rimpa School screens presents a journey through the four seasons of the year by representative plants and flowers for each season. For example, plants representing the spring are the kodemari, sumire, and yamabuki. The summer is represented by the iris, lily, nadeshiko, aoi, and kiri. The fall by the chrysanthemum, morning glory, bush clover, ominaeshi, and susuki. And the winter is represented solely by the narcissus.
Each of the twelve clusters on the screens represents a group of plants from a particular season. The grouping of the clusters is according to a larger plan: the larger cluster of chrysanthemums growing around a fence forms the left-most panels of the right-hand screen. This group connects to another autumn group in the right-most panels of the lefthand screen. Placed next to each other, these two halves combine to form a coherent program: the panels furthest to the right display the only cluster of spring flowers, from this, the directions (like that of a handscroll) goes left, and we travel through groups of summer and autumn clusters. At the very end, we meet with the only winter group in the screens: a small group of narcissus peeking from around the farthest corner.
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