Spring and Autumn Farming
1704
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1704
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Spring and Autumn Farming is a 1704 unspecified by Kō Sūkoku, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This pair of screens shows a farming year in Japan. Spring plowing and autumn harvest fill the panels. People pause to eat, play, and read between the hard work. Screens like this often hid deeper meaning. Some scholars think they praise order and hard work. Others see quiet jokes in the details. Look next at Kō Sūkoku’s teacher, Hanabusa Itchō.
These screens present the cycle of the farming year, starting with spring at right and ending with fall at left. Close examination of these screens reveals moments of games and amusement, the enjoyment of meals as well as intellectual and spiritual pursuits interspersed among the scenes of cultivating and preparing the rice harvest. The artist Kō Sūkoku is considered the 18th-century heir in style and attitude to Hanabusa Itchō (1652–1724). Itchō’s work incorporated elements from Kano school, ukiyo-e, and literati styles of painting. Kō trained with one of Hanabusa’s pupils, Sawaki Sūshi, who…
Read the full account in the museum source.
