Spring and Autumn Farming (Autumn) (1700s): Art, History and Details

Spring and Autumn Farming (Autumn) (1700s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Kō Sūkoku (Japanese, 1730–1804).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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 was best known for scenes depicting everyday life and customs.

Object facts

• Title: Spring and Autumn Farming (Autumn)
• Date: 1700s
• Creator attribution: Kō Sūkoku (Japanese, 1730–1804)
• Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Six-panel folding screen, ink, light color, gold, and silver on paper
• Dimensions: Overall: 170.2 x 353.5 cm (67 x 139 3/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Folding screen
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 2012.72.2

Collection credit

Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski

Further reading listed by the museum

• "New in the Galleries.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 58. no. 1 (January/February 2018): Back cover.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.