Four-leaf folding screen. France, late 19th century.

Four-leaf folding screen. France, late 19th century.
Hand painted silk.
Gilded wood frame.
One hinge is missing. It has losses in the edges.
Measurements: 175 × 65 cm each sheet.

Screen of French origin composed of four articulated panels, decorated with painting on silk. The work shows a clear influence of the painting of landscapes of Chinese tradition, as much in the election of the support (silk) as in the poetic and contemplative atmosphere that it evokes. The scenes represented correspond to a lake landscape with scattered islets, leafy trees and calm waters, worked with great chromatic subtlety. The predominant tones (ochers, toasted siennas, moss greens and pearly grays) are arranged in soft gradations that suggest atmospheric depth and seasonal melancholy, probably inspired by the autumnal landscapes so recurrent in classical Chinese aesthetics. Each leaf is mounted in a carved wood frame with gilt-finished sogueado moldings, underlining the fusion between French decorative elements and the chinoiserie inspiration that marked the taste of the time, especially in contexts linked to Japonisme and the sinophilia of the European fin-de-siècle.