Flowers of the Four Seasons by Saitō Ippo

Flowers of the Four Seasons c. early 19th century

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watercolor

water colours

asian-art

landscape

ukiyo-e

watercolor

Dimensions: 36 3/4 × 94 1/8 in. (93.35 × 239.08 cm) (image)37 7/8 × 95 1/2 × 9/16 in. (96.2 × 242.57 × 1.43 cm)

Saitō Ippo's "Flowers of the Four Seasons," presents a panorama of floral abundance across six panels, realized with ink and color on gilded paper. The eye is immediately drawn to the interplay between the shimmering gold background and the vibrant flora. Notice how Ippo employs a composition that disrupts traditional perspective, creating a flattened space where each flower asserts its presence. The artist uses bold outlines and blocks of color to define the forms, yet there's also a delicate rendering of petals and leaves. This approach challenges fixed meanings and engages with new ways of thinking about space. Ippo destabilizes established notions of depth and realism, presenting a surface where pattern and texture take precedence. The semiotic system of signs—each flower representing a season—is flattened, encouraging us to consider how traditional symbols can be reconfigured. The formal qualities, particularly the flattening of space, functions not just aesthetically but also as part of a larger cultural discourse on representation.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart over 1 year ago

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On this single six-panel screen, the flowers of the four seasons bloom in confused disarray. The rightmost panel starts with spring flowers: dandelions, violets, nanohana, white camellias, then plum. At about the center of the screen, irises, hydrangea, hollyhocks, peonies, hibiscus, and morning glories represent summer. The leftmost panel shows autumn and winter with chrysanthemums, bush clover, and arrowroot, thus including and gathering together representative flowers of each of the four seasons. Much is unclear about the life of Saito_ Ippo, but it is thought that he was the pupil of Sakai O_ho (1808-41), the adopted son of Sakai Ho_itsu, and was an official at the Asakusa Temple in Edo. Few works by Ippo survive and the others currently known are almost exclusively screens with mounted fan paintings. Nonetheless, the outlines of the flowers and plants in this work are very carefully executed and the technique of precisely layering colors and gold pigment shows that the artist had considerable talent and drew from the Edo Rinpa tradition, making this a valuable work by Ippo.