Anonymous, Flowers and grasses in spring, summer and autumn, sealed I’nen, Edo period, mid-18th century | 無名　印「伊年」草花図屏風　江戸時代　18世紀中期

Kinbyoubu no saiten ogon no sekai-e yokoso [Golden Screens], Okada Museum of Art, Hakone, 2023, exh. nos. 3-4 (unillustrated).

Flowers of spring, summer and autumn grace the gold leaf ground of this pair of six-panel screens. Paulownia flowers (kiri), wisteria (fuji), bamboo grass (sasa), and peony (botan) are representative of spring. For early summer, irises (shobu) and hydrangeas (ajisai). Dianthus (nadeshiko), tiger lily (oni-yuri) and bellflowers (kiyko) are associated with mid to late summer. Autumn is symbolised by pampas grass (susuki) and chrysanthemums (kiku).

Both screens bear the I’nen seal, first used by the artist Tawaraya Sotatsu (active circa 1600-1640) [see Lots 1052, 1089, 1092 and 1095]. The seal appears on many of his own works, as well as those produced by artists from his studio both during his lifetime and after his death around 1640. Several decades later, the artist Ogata Korin (1658-1716) [see Lots 1014 and 1050] drew heavily from Sotatsu’s style, initiating a revolution in Japanese painting that came to be known as the Rimpa school [lit. school of [Ko]rin] style. The I’nen seal is typically found on works depicting flowers and grasses, such as the present example.

These screens follow the hallmarks of the Sotatsu-Korin style. Leaving much of the composition to the resplendence of the gold ground, flowers bloom across the twelve panels entirely abstracted from their surroundings or spatial depth as if adorning a lacquer or textile surface in the form a decorative motif. The depiction of myriad seasonal blooms evokes the harmony of the four seasons and would have been considered suitably propitious for display on a variety of occasions.

展覽

《金屏風の祭典一黄金の世界へようこそ 》， 岡田美術館，箱根，2023年，展覽編號3-4 （沒載圖）

此對六曲屏風以金箔為地，綴滿春秋盛放之花韻。桐花、藤瀑、笹竹與牡丹乃春之代表；初夏則見菖蒲與紫陽爭艷；盛夏至末夏則有撫子、鬼百合與桔梗相繼吐芳；秋色遂以芒草與菊英為象徵。

雙屏皆鈐「伊年」印，此印首見於畫家俵屋宗達（約活動於1600-1640年間）[參見Lot 1052、1089、1092及1095]。該印記可見於其眾多親筆作品，亦出現於其生前與約1640年逝世後畫坊匠人之作。數十年後，畫家尾形光琳（1658-1716）[參見Lot 1014與1050]深得宗達風格精髓，遂開日本繪畫革新之先河，後世稱之「琳派」。伊年印常見於花草題材作品，本作即為典例。

此對屏風承襲宗達光琳樣式之精髓：構圖大量留予金地展現璀璨光華，花卉脫離環境與空間縱深，宛若漆器或織品紋樣綴於其表。四季百花競放之景，既寓四時和合之境，亦被視為適宜各類場合的祥瑞陳設。