Ca. 1840. Hanging scroll. Ink, colour and gofun on silk. 105 x 26.1 cm. Signed: Kaikai Kiitsu. Sealed: Isando. The white flowers of the snake gourd only open in the evening, whilst the fronds of the albizia close at night. Kiitsu’s depiction of these two summer plants at the transitory moment in early evening when this occurs, shows his sensitive observation of nature. A pair of paintings with the same seal, showing cherry and maple, is in the Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo (Edo rimpa no kisai: Suzuki Kiitsu, Itabashi Museum, 1993, plate 19).
