Gilded Fan Poster

On a deep black ground, an open fan is painted with cherry blossom over a sage-green field, its lower edge dusted with gold. Plum branches cross in from the right in white and pink, and a chrysanthemum roundel curls in at the top left with blue leaves and yellow petals. The black is flat and matte, which makes the blossoms appear lit from the front rather than placed on a background. Gold is used sparingly, along one edge only. It is the most decorative print in the series and the one that holds a dark wall best.

Black-ground prints need either a dark wall to disappear into or a pale one to cut against, and this one is worth hanging where it can do the second. The pinks and sage keep it from being severe, so it suits a bedroom as readily as a living room. Brass, dark wood and anything with a sheen pick up the gold edge. A black frame makes it a single block of colour; oak gives the fan a border to open against. On canvas the matte black gains depth that paper cannot quite reach.