The Four Seasons: Many Shades of Green on Spring Hills
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Flowers to Frost: Four Seasons in East Asian Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, July 18, 2015 - July 17, 2016.
These seasonal landscapes are made from thinly cut sheets of marble with striking natural patterns. Each is carved with poetic inscriptions, reading counterclockwise from the top right:
• “Many shades of green on spring hills”
• “Many wonders of summer clouds”
• “Bright moonlight on the autumn stream”
• “Winter peaks hoard the snow”
According to ancient belief, displaying seasonal art in a home ensured smooth transitions between seasons and a peaceful year for the family.
Edna H. Bahr, 1912;
Purchased from Edna H. Bahr by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1959.
Ross E. Taggart, George L. McKenna, and Marc F. Wilson, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. II, Art of the Orient. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 94. (repro.).
Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 377, fig. 291. (repro.).
