Artwork
Summer Flowers
Summer Flowers is an unspecified painting by the Ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Sōsetsu. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
History & Provenance
The work is held at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is catalogued under the accession number 1992.
Summer Flowers is a painting created in 1650 by the Japanese artist Kitagawa Sōsetsu, who was active during the mid-seventeenth century and worked in the Rinpa tradition. The work is held at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is catalogued under the accession number 1992.383. The specific circumstances of its original commission and the details of its ownership history prior to the museum's acquisition are not provided in the available records, though the piece is firmly dated to 1650.
Overview
Summer Flowers, attributed to the Japanese painter Kitagawa Sōsetsu and dated to around 1650, is an ink-and-color composition in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work presents an arrangement of blossoms and grasses set against a pale, peach‑toned ground, offering a concise visual meditation on seasonal flora.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a cluster of pink, white and red blossoms interspersed with green leaves, while slender reeds rise behind them in darker strokes. The juxtaposition of delicate flowers with taller, more robust grasses suggests a balance between fragility and endurance, a common theme in Edo‑period depictions of nature’s transience.
Technique & Style
Sōsetsu employs a restrained brushwork that emphasizes the overall silhouette of each element rather than intricate detailing. Broad washes of soft peach provide a luminous backdrop, while the flora are rendered in flat washes of color outlined with clean, decisive lines. This approach reflects the painter’s focus on compositional harmony and the expressive potential of simplified forms.
Artist & collection
