GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Léon Frédéric’s dense allegorical painting about the harmony and unity of nature is considered among the most important works produced by the Belgian symbolist movement. It won a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Saint Louis in 1904. The central panel of a polyptych, the painting depicts Nature with four children as the four seasons. Nature is represented as a nourishing mother. Spring is at her breast; Winter shivers at her knee; Summer, adorned with wheat sheaves and flowers, leans toward Autumn, sleeping amid a profusion of grapes and fruits. Nature’s head separates the light from the darkness, sun from moon and stars. Frédéric became a leading figure among Les Vingt (The Twenty), the progressive Brussels art group he joined in 1893.
Excerpt from
Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Nature or Abundance," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 227.
NOTES
Created 1897
Checked Piction
web resources are not reliable
See also- ESSAAY IN BRETTELL LECTURE SERIES
From Dropbox: Euro lables 2007-2008
Adorned with the splendors of nature, this nurturing mother offers her children sustenance and support. She is a goddess of fertility and abundance, whose mountain-like body is covered in flowering plants. This painting was once the central panel of five, with the flanking wings depicting the four seasons personified as a children. Léon Frédéric’s realistic, detailed depiction of a mythological image shows the spirit of symbolism in its transformation of a familiar type—the nurturing mother—into a sensual and energetic vision.
Geography unverified----he traveled frequently.
Frédéric, Léon (Belgian painter, 1856-1940)
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Philadelphia Museum of Art~Check out this series The Four Seasons by Frédéric which is similar to the DMA's Nature or Abundance.
- Musee d'Orsay, Paris~View another work by Léon Frédéric created around the same time as Nature or Abundance.
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General Description
Léon Frédéric’s dense allegorical painting about the harmony and unity of nature is considered among the most important works produced by the Belgian symbolist movement. It won a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Saint Louis in 1904. The central panel of a polyptych, the painting depicts Nature with four children as the four seasons. Nature is represented as a nourishing mother. Spring is at her breast; Winter shivers at her knee; Summer, adorned with wheat sheaves and flowers, leans toward Autumn, sleeping amid a profusion of grapes and fruits. Nature’s head separates the light from the darkness, sun from moon and stars. Frédéric became a leading figure among Les Vingt (The Twenty), the progressive Brussels art group he joined in 1893.
Excerpt from
Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Nature or Abundance," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 227.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Philadelphia Museum of Art~Check out this series The Four Seasons by Frédéric which is similar to the DMA's Nature or Abundance.
- Musee d'Orsay, Paris~View another work by Léon Frédéric created around the same time as Nature or Abundance.
Notes
Created 1897
Checked Piction
web resources are not reliable
See also- ESSAAY IN BRETTELL LECTURE SERIES
From Dropbox: Euro lables 2007-2008
Adorned with the splendors of nature, this nurturing mother offers her children sustenance and support. She is a goddess of fertility and abundance, whose mountain-like body is covered in flowering plants. This painting was once the central panel of five, with the flanking wings depicting the four seasons personified as a children. Léon Frédéric’s realistic, detailed depiction of a mythological image shows the spirit of symbolism in its transformation of a familiar type—the nurturing mother—into a sensual and energetic vision.
Geography unverified----he traveled frequently.
Frédéric, Léon (Belgian painter, 1856-1940)
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
2007.18.FA
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