Description
In Frog and Gold Beetle, a frog sits low at the right beside foliage, while a large dark circular leaf fills much of the left side in Kitagawa Utamaro’s book image. The title also names a gold beetle. The contrast between the frog’s modest scale and the expansive leaf makes the natural setting an active part of the composition.
Published in 1788, the woodblock-printed page uses ink and color on paper. Utamaro gives creatures of modest scale an opportunity to become the center of attention. The illustrated-book context makes that encounter intimate, inviting a pace of looking suited to distinctions rather than spectacle. Its appeal lies in the variety of the shared natural world, where the differences between bodies can become a source of interest as compelling as the environment they inhabit.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Kitagawa Utamaro collection.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.