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Bamboo in the Four Seasons

Attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu Japanese
late 15th–early 16th century
Not on view
The traditional Chinese subject of bamboo is given a distinctly Japanese treatment in this rendition of the four seasons. Stands of mature bamboo, leafy young bamboo plants, and tapering bamboo shoots are loosely grouped across the surface of this pair of screens, with violets and shepherd’s purse clustered near the bases of taller stalks. Beginning on the right, the seasons progress from spring to winter, although young bamboo branches, bowing as though caught in a breeze, unify the composition. The tallest bamboo plants extend upward beyond the picture plane, while the stems of younger plants are cropped by the lower border. This, along with the absence of dense clumps of foliage and the distant haze suggested by a light application of gold in the background, creates an impression of vast space. The artist appears to have mixed characteristics of different bamboo species for decorative effect.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 伝土佐光信筆 四季竹図屏風
  • Title: Bamboo in the Four Seasons
  • Artist: Attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu (Japanese, active ca. 1462–1525)
  • Period: Muromachi period (1392–1573)
  • Date: late 15th–early 16th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Pair of six-panel screens; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper
  • Dimensions: Image (each): 61 13/16 in. × 11 ft. 9 3/4 in. (157 × 360 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.268.44, .45
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons, Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons
Japan
late 16th century
Illustrated Legends of Ishiyamadera (Ishiyamadera engi emaki), Scroll 4, Tosa Mitsunobu Japanese, Handscroll from a set of seven; ink and color on paper, Japan
Returned to lender
Illustrated Legends of Ishiyamadera (Ishiyamadera engi emaki), Scroll 4
Tosa Mitsunobu
1497
The Tale of Genji Album (Genji monogatari gajō), Tosa Mitsunobu Japanese, Album of fifty-four paired paintings and calligraphic texts; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan
Returned to lender
The Tale of Genji Album (Genji monogatari gajō)
Tosa Mitsunobu
Various calligraphers
1510
Gibbons in a Landscape, Sesson Shūkei 雪村周継 Japanese, Pair of six-panel screens; ink on paper, Japan
Gibbons in a Landscape
Sesson Shūkei 雪村周継
ca. 1570
Flowers and Grasses of the Four Seasons, Kano Mitsunobu 狩野光信 Japanese, Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold paint, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Flowers and Grasses of the Four Seasons
Kano Mitsunobu 狩野光信
late 16th century

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