Artwork
啓孫筆 四季山水図|Landscapes of the Four Seasons
啓孫筆 四季山水図|Landscapes of the Four Seasons is an ink painting by the Ming dynasty painting artist Keison. It dates from 1500 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is dated 1500 and attributed to Keison, a painter active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
Landscapes of the Four Seasons is executed as a pair of hanging scrolls in ink on paper, a format and medium typical of Japanese ink landscape painting of the late Muromachi period. The work is dated 1500 and attributed to Keison, a painter active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The subject is landscape, with mountains as the principal motif.
Beyond the identification of the support as paper and the medium as monochrome ink, the available documentation does not provide further detail on brushwork, pigment handling, seal impressions, inscriptions, or current condition.
History & Provenance
The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where its accession number is 2018.815a–b, assigned upon acquisition. The available sources do not document a detailed prior provenance or a verified exhibition history for the pair of scrolls.
Overview
This pair of hanging scrolls, titled Landscapes of the Four Seasons (啓孫筆 四季山水図), presents a series of natural vistas rendered in ink on paper. The two tall compositions are designed to be viewed side by side, offering a panoramic journey through the changing year. Each scroll contributes to a broader depiction of the landscape, characterized by misty mountains, sparse trees, and delicate bridges, all executed with a monochromatic palette.
Subject & Meaning
The artwork thoughtfully illustrates the progression of the year through distinct seasonal imagery. The left scroll typically features motifs associated with spring, such as blossoming trees, while its counterpart on the right conveys the stark beauty of winter, often through the depiction of resilient pines. This arrangement allows the viewer to contemplate the cyclical nature of time and the enduring qualities of the natural world, expressed through specific seasonal elements.
Artist & collection
Artist
Keison spent his life tucked between ink and paper, inking the same bamboo stalk until the brush wore thin.
