Poetry, from the illustrated book Flowers of the Four Seasons

Description

Poetry from Flowers of the Four Seasons is a page devoted almost entirely to dense handwritten verse. Columns of calligraphy carry the composition, replacing a figured scene with the varied rhythm of written marks. Its visual interest rests in the relationship between strokes, spacing and the page itself, giving literary expression a place within the illustrated volume.

Published in 1801, the page belongs to Flowers of the Four Seasons, a book associated with Kitagawa Utamaro’s illustrated work. Its text gives the volume a distinct literary interval, inviting attention to the appearance of language as well as its place in a sequence. The page can be approached as a composition of repeated columns and individual gestures, where the hand’s movement remains visible through the printed surface. It represents this textual portion of the book rather than a separate floral scene.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Kitagawa Utamaro collection.