Accession Number
1982/2.7.2

Title
Dragonfly and lotus leaves, from a collaborative album of 11 pages

Artist(s)
Japanese

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
circa 1923

Medium & Support
album leaf, ink and light color on paper

Dimensions
10 5/8 in x 14 1/16 in (27 cm x 35.8 cm);10 5/8 in x 7 1/16 in x 11/16 in (27 cm x 18 cm x 1.8 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. J. Robert Willson

Subject matter
From a sketching album of 11 pages, this page depicts a dragonfly and a water plant. The dragonfly is a popular motif used in Japanese art and literature. Because of the commonality of dragonflies in Japan, they can symbolize many things from courage and strength to happiness. Another component of this painting is the lotus leaves. While the leaves themselves do not hold much meaning, the flowers are rich in symbolism. The lack of flowers shows the season in which this was painted and the rough-draft nature of this sketch. 

Physical Description
Painted in black, blue, brown, red, and brown pigments, the painting depicts a natural scene of a dragonfly and lotus leaves. The lotus leaves are towards the bottom third of the page and reach up with branches toward the dragonfly located in the upper third slightly right from the center. To the right is a four-lined vertical inscription. 

Primary Object Classification
Unbound Work

Primary Object Type
leaf

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Insects
Japan
Plants
album leaf
calligraphy
frogs
leaves
sketches
trees