Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons

Colors in this work

Artist: Unknown artist
Date: late 16th century
Medium: Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Dimensions: Image: 63 1/4 in. × 11 ft. 10 in. (160.7 × 360.7 cm) Overall: 69 3/8 in. × 12 ft. 4 1/2 in. (176.2 × 377.2 cm)
Origin: Japan
Department: Asian Art
Holding institution: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Palette: Limestone Honey · Yellow family · #DEB778 · 46%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #575A44 · 22%

Olive Ground · Yellow family · #857657 · 7%

Golden Bole · Yellow family · #AA8E61 · 7%

Faded Gilt · Yellow family · #BA9B68 · 5%

Aged Vellum · Yellow family · #FBD992 · 3%

Rainworn Cedar · Brown family · #695947 · 3%

Bitumen Shadow · Black family · #242118 · 2%

Museum Mount · Gray family · #B8AA98 · 1%

Parchment Ochre · Yellow family · #C1AA89 · 1%

Vine Charcoal · Gray family · #434D4D · 1%

Rainworn Cedar · Brown family · #705549 · <1%

Lampblack · Black family · #0E0F17 · <1%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #CB967A · <1%

Granite Face · Gray family · #6A7772 · <1%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #8E5B29 · <1%

Raw Sienna Bank · Brown family · #B06D63 · <1%

Willow Ash · Green family · #849377 · <1%

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Image provider: metropolitan-museum-of-art
License: CC0-1.0
Credit: Purchase, Mrs. Jackson Burke and Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation Gifts, 1987

12 tags

The Seasons Metadata · 98%

The title, Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons, explicitly identifies a seasonal subject.
Animals Both · 99%

Cranes are listed in the catalog subjects and are clearly visible, including one standing crane and a group of three walking cranes; smaller birds also appear in the scene.
Flora Both · 99%

Trees are listed in the catalog subjects, and the image visibly includes bamboo, spreading trees, flowering branches, grasses, reeds, and other plants.
Water Visual · 97%

A dark winding stream is clearly visible across the left and central portions of the image.

Sparse Visual · 90%

Large areas of largely unoccupied gold ground alternate with concentrated clusters of trees, plants, birds, and stream forms.

Painting Both · 99%

The Met classifies the work as a painting and the image visibly shows painted imagery organized across a folding-screen surface.
Screen Format Both · 99%

The catalog identifies a pair of six-panel folding screens, and the supplied image clearly shows six vertical panels joined by folding seams.
Gold Leaf and Gilding Both · 98%

Gold leaf is specified in the catalog and the broad reflective gold surface is visibly integrated into the screen's construction.

16th Century Art Metadata · 99%

The work is dated to the late sixteenth century, with catalog dates of 1567–1599.

Gold Both · 99%

The catalog specifies gold and gold leaf, and the image visibly presents an extensive luminous gold ground.
Use of Paper Metadata · 99%

The catalog identifies paper as the support: ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper.

Unknown artist. Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.