One of my favorite pieces in the Philadelphia Museum of Art is “The Four Seasons” by Belgian painter, Léon Frédéric. The installation consists of four 49 x 32 11/16 x 1 3/4 inch oil paintings, each representing one of the four seasons. They’re lined on the wall in the order of spring summer fall and winter. At first, I am not used to the way they are represented in this line up. Im very interested in the fact that spring, summer, and fall could basically be switched around to represent different seasons. I know realize I am admiring work from a European artist and the climate of Belgium is a moderate one. The subtle changes through the pieces begin to make more sense.
What I am drawn to first is the chaos of the growth around the figure and the vibrant colors that makes up each piece. ‘Spring’ is absolutely gorgeous. The cherub is swallowed in a blooming garden with life bursting out of each bulb. Frédéric’s style of painting definitely does this work justice. The smooth strokes and soft lines that make up the figure serve as a successful contrast against the tactile feeling of the flowers.
I think what draws me most to this season is the fact that I’ve veen longing for it for some time now. The vibrant color excites me for the weeks that lay ahead of me. When looking at this piece , I am able to envision myself sitting on a patch of grass and taking in the sunshine while the sme of fresh spring air fills my lungs.
My second favorite is his portrayal of summer which is interesting to me because I am so obsessed with summer, I just naturally thought I would favor this piece. Although all four parts of this work are similar in the fact they involve many bright, eye grabbing colors, this picture stays in the same color family for the most part. A group of yellows and golds flow around between the frame. Though this “season” does not directly show signs of warm weather, I am able to feel the sun through the choice of color he chooses. The tones are just a bit warmer than the spring depiction and I am able to sense the feeling of the sun. The rich yellows with the subtle reds, greens and blues of the flowers give this part of the work a very romantic and calm feeling.
Next is fall, another beautiful job. Generally, this season upsets me because although I enjoy the weather at the beginning, it gets darker and cooler as the weeks go by and eventual turns into my least favorite season: winter. In this work however, I am not reminded of winter quickly approaching. I am reminded of the warm days of Indian summer and the lush vegetation which fall produces. Instead of using bleak “wintery” colors, this picture does not vary too much in comparison to the previous two. Next to spring, this picture does range in different values of darker colors but they are still very rich and dramatic.
Now for my least favorite part, winter. Yes, it is nice in the context of this work however, that is really all it is good for to me. The artist does a great job at describing my feelings toward this season buy using a very bleak color pallet and displaying the death of what was once a vivacious patch of life. Looking at this picture makes me feel cold and tired, two feelings which sadly consume my life from about November to March.
In this gallery the are displayed in these four gigantically obnoxious frames which are covered in gold. I think this was a good move on the curator’s part because it quite possibly may have been what drew me to this piece in the first place. I’m also glad they are all placed right next to each other the way that they are. Each of them are gorgeously executed on their own, no doubt however, I think it makes a bolder statement as one piece. Instead of focusing too long on just one season, I’m able to get a sense of time and seasons changing from this, just the way life does. Leading up to this period we’ve seen some pretty obscure obscure work so the fact that Frédéric was able to take the idea of combining realism with the display of the seasons and fantasy with the angel children really gave us a fresh experience.
