The Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Publisher Universal Limited Art Editions American

1987

Not on view

These four prints of The Seasons explore artifacts and seasonal symbols to represent the epochs of life and the cycles of growth and aging. The works review many motifs used previously in Johns's work—e.g. the arm in a partial circle rotates like a clock through these panels. Optical illusions such as duck/rabbit or old woman/young woman in Spring explore the nature of seeing and experience. In Fall, a profile of Marcel Duchamp (a spiritual and artistic mentor to Johns) is included next to a skull and crossbones from a Swiss sign warning of avalanche danger, a reminder of mortality. The Seasons also incorporates elements of more reflective imagery that emerged in his work in the 1980s. A scaled down version of the artist's own shadow refers to Johns's meditation on his own path.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Inscriptions and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: The Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Artist: Jasper Johns (American, born Augusta, Georgia, 1930)
Publisher: Universal Limited Art Editions
Date: 1987
Medium: Etching and color aquatints
Edition: 19/73 + (Spring) 16 artist's proofs, (Summer and Fall) 14 artist's proofs, (Winter) 13 artist's proofs
Dimensions: (Each): 26 1/4 × 19 5/16 in. (66.7 × 49 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchase, Reba and Dave Williams Gift, 1999
Object Number: 1999.407a-d
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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