Artwork
The Four Seasons: Autumn
The Four Seasons: Autumn is a print by the Baroque artist Abraham Bosse. It dates from 1635 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Look up other works tagged “france, 17th century” to see how artists pictured daily life back then.
A group of well-dressed city folks drink and brawl in a vineyard at harvest time. Wine glasses tip, a sword flashes, and a table flips over—no quiet farm scene here.
Most autumn paintings of the 1600s showed farmers working. Bosse swapped that for urban revelers making a mess. The clothes and chaos say more about city life than the season itself.
Look up other works tagged “france, 17th century” to see how artists pictured daily life back then.
Overview
The Four Seasons: Autumn is a print by Abraham Bosse depicting a lively scene in a vineyard.
Subject & Meaning
The image shows a group of elegantly dressed individuals indulging in wine and revelry, diverging from the traditional representation of autumn as a time of agricultural labor.
Technique & Style
Bosse's work captures the chaos and disorder of the scene, with overturned tables and drawn swords, conveying a sense of unbridled merriment.
Context
This print diverges from the common 17th-century depiction of autumn, which typically featured rural laborers, instead focusing on the excesses of urban life.
Artist & collection
Artist
Abraham Bosse (c. 1604 – 14 February 1676) was a French artist, mainly as a printmaker in etching, but also in watercolour.
