Flowers of Autumn c. 17th century

Tawaraya Sōsetsu created "Flowers of Autumn", a painting on silk, whose dimensions are 123.9 by 49.8 centimeters. The artwork presents a muted palette where the eye is drawn to the lower portion of the work, with its dense arrangements of white and pink flowers, and then moves upward to follow the gentle arc of the grass. The artist's use of negative space above the floral arrangements is not merely emptiness but an active element that defines the forms, suggesting a field or garden. The gold flecks scattered across the background introduce a textural dynamic which alters the perception of depth and surface, emphasizing the painting’s materiality. Sōsetsu destabilizes traditional notions of composition and space, and challenges the viewer's expectations by balancing representation with abstraction. The delicate, detailed rendering of the flowers contrasts with the more ethereal treatment of the background, creating a tension between the tangible and the ephemeral. This tension is not just aesthetic; it reflects a broader discourse on the nature of perception and reality in Japanese art. The structure of the painting invites contemplation on the relationship between form and emptiness.