Seasons

Seasons, Series of four paintings by Charles Robinson


Charles Robinson created a series of four paintings for the 1920 Pears Annual. Each of the watercolors was titled after one of the seasons of the year, which gave the name to the series: Seasons. All paintings are great examples of Art Nouveau style with many decorative details and vibrant colors which made them very popular till today. Several websites offer handmade reproductions of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter in many different formats.

Shall we take a look?

Spring


Spring is a time of new life, new beginnings, time of optimism and happiness. The painter used a group of cherubs to present the magic of rebirth in its mythical experience with green dominating the color palette and other colors to add to enthusiasm and happiness, which is obvious in cheerful cherubs too.

Little angels have colorful wings and decorative headbands of different colors excited over so many different things appearing around them. While we have so many hues in the limited space, the painting is so masterfully balanced that the eyes still try to find additional details even after longer observation.

Summer

Summer is the warmth of the seasons and with dominating shades of yellow and orange, we feel the spirit of summer right away. The artist decided to personalize summer with a beautiful young woman. She is looking somewhere in the distance, dressed in a long wavy dress enhancing her feminine figure, seamlessly interweaving with several sets of roses of different colors.

She has a cherub on her shoulder and a tray full of different fruits in one hand while the other gives support to the cherub who is also looking somewhere in front, far away. It looks like all the elements of nature are fused in a joyous moment when everything from the clouds to the tiniest leaves serves as the perfect background for the presented lady.

Autumn

Autumn is the most contrasting painting in the series. Charles Robinson decided to make a composition of opposites. These can be seen on several different levels. Cherub is carrying a bag of undefined goods, presenting some kind of horn of plenty. Cherub's lively colors of hair are in striking contrast with the greyish tones of the robe.

Remember cherubs from Spring and Summer above? No clothes! But in this case, a robe is a must. Autumn can be windy as is clearly suggested by the fallen leaves. Their warm colors are just reminiscent of fleeting life, slowly diluting in the gray ground. Reddish and yellowish tones are losing the battle with colder colors like dark brown or blue.

Winter

This time cherubs are leaving. Just like life is leaving the earth when the winter comes. Yellow, orange, and red, the colors of life and joy, are gone. Coldness and darkness rule the world. If the cherub in Autumn still had colorful wings, these ones are boring gray. The sky looks sad and tired. Symbolism of colors is used to its limits.

https://colors.site123.me/blog/symbolic-meanings-of-colors

But with all the pessimistic elements there is still the presence of hope. We see that cherubs are not empty-handed. They are bearing gifts, just as we are used to at Christmas time. We all know that Christmas is one of the most merry holidays in the world. It doesn't really matter it falls on the darkest and coldest part of the year. A hint of purple insinuates the magic of new life, the new beginning of the cycle consisting of four seasons.

For everybody who enjoys these Robinson's masterpieces, we prepared a little treat: a free printable calendar for 2024. All four paintings in a one-page calendar to decorate your place and enjoy eternal natural cycles while counting the days of the year.

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