OGATA KORIN: AN IMPORTANT PAIR OF PAIR OF RINPA SIX-PANEL ‘FLOWERS OF THE FOUR SEASONS’ BYOBU (FOLDING SCREEN)

By Ogata Korin (1658-1716), signed Korin with seals Ogata and Kansei and Korin zu with seals Ogata and Kansei
Japan, late 17^th to early 18^th century (Edo period 1615-1868)

Ink, watercolors, gouache, and gold foil on paper. Each mounted within a silk brocade frame on six lacquered wood panels with brass ‘folding-fan’ fittings. This magnificent pair of screens belongs to a genre of lyrical paintings of flowers, grasses, and other plants that flourished around the middle of the seventeenth century. The subject is an imaginary garden in which flowers of all four seasons are in bloom. Overflowing with vitality and dazzling against an all-gold ground, this lush profusion of natural beauty is dense with plants for spring and summer on the right screen, more open for autumn and winter on the left.

Inscriptions: To the first panel, signed 光琳 Korin with seals 緒方 Ogata and 澗声 Kansei; and the second panel, signed 光琳圖 Korin zu [painted by Korin] with seals 緒方 Ogata and 澗声 Kansei.

SIZE 181 x 378 cm (each)

Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and vibrant colors. Little soiling, tiny losses, and minuscule flaking to pigment and gold foil - some with associated repairs and touchups. The back with traces of wear and use. Presenting exceptionally well and in a remarkable state of preservation.

On the first screen (spring and summer), the flowers include yellow Japanese roses (yamabuki), tree peonies, pinks, opium poppies, clematis, Japanese irises, and water plantain.

On the second screen (autumn and winter), you can find eggplants, miscanthus grasses, bush clover, yellow maidenflowers, bellflowers, chrysanthemums, and Shasta daisies.

Ogata Korin’s work is regarded as some of the most important and innovative in Japanese art. A master of the Rinpa school, Korin was known for his bold, graphic style and his ability to imbue his subjects with both a decorative richness and intellectual depth. His work remains iconic to this day, blending the refined techniques of classical Japanese painting with a fresh, inventive approach. His innovations - such as the incorporation of new brush techniques, the blending of calligraphy with imagery, and his lavish use of gold and other expensive materials - set him apart as a transformative figure in the Edo period. Ogata Korin’s influence continues to resonate in the world of Japanese art, inspiring countless generations of artists.

Museum comparison:
Compare a closely related pair of six-panel folding screens depicting Irises at Yatsuhashi, by the same artist, dated after 1709, size 179.1 x 371.5 cm (each), in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 53.7.1, .2.

Auction comparison:
Compare a closely related pair of six-panel folding screens depicting chrysanthemums, by the same artist, dated to the early 18^th century, size 166.3 x 357.6 cm (each), at Sotheby’s, Masterpieces of Asian Art from the Okada Museum of Art, 22 November 2025, Hong Kong, lot 1014 (sold for HKD 3,810,000 or approx. EUR 429,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Compare a closely related pair of six-panel folding screens depicting flowers and grasses of the four seasons, Rinpa school, sealed I’nen, dated to the mid-17^th century, at Christie’s, The Exceptional Sale 2017, 6 July 2017, London, lot 15 (sold for GBP 317,000 or approx. EUR 494,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).