Mimosa tree, poppies and other summer flowers 合歓木芥子図屏風

Tawaraya Sosetsu 俵屋宗雪 (active mid-17th century) · 1630-1670

Against a gold-leafed background, a lush garden grows beneath the fronds of a mimosa tree. The artist has expertly applied thin washes of ink and pigment, allowing the color to pool, suggesting the variations in natural hues of foliage and flowers. This folding screen was constructed from four individual sliding panels that would have been set in rails between two rooms. The artist is identified only by a circular seal, I'nen, which identifies the painter as a member of the atelier of Sotatsu (active circa 1600-1640). Sotatsu was an innovative artist whose distinctive style of painting was carried on intermittently by artists of the Rimpa School, named after Ogata Korin (1658-1716) and characterized by innovative ideas about design and materials. More than one artist used the I'nen seal, but among Sotatsu's followers, Sosetsu's reputation was the most prominent. Because of its high artistic and technical quality, this screen has traditionally been associated with his name.