Browse Items (1279 total)

An apparently straightforward scene of home construction reveals a more complex, interconnected relationship between humans and the rest of nature. In the left foreground we see the stump of a tree, either downed by windfall or more likely cut down.…

The plant depicted here probably is a Japanese arrowhead (Saggitaria japonica), which is native to marshes and due to its edible tuber occasionally called a “duck potato.” Kadowaki’s interest certainly is aesthetic—due to its distinctive leafs and…

We approach this still life obliquely, as a momentary and almost casual glimpse of domestic space: a covered table is pushed against the wall, next to a door frame, holding a few everyday objects set down in passing. Yet each of them points beyond…

A beautifully balanced composition depicts, on either side of its central planter, a knobbly gourd and ringed vase of similar shape. Our conception of what constitutes a garden blurs distinctions between human-cultivated plants and human-created…

This enigmatic watercolor is organized around the small figurine at left, perhaps a mythical Japanese fox-spirit called kitsune. Their intelligence and shape-shifting ability renders them an ambiguous omen: perhaps as shapeshifting tricksters,…

This dramatic still life is created using bold brush strokes and skillful blending, combined with high-contrast lighting. Two vases—one of gladiolus, the other filled with yellow roses—sit upon a small table near a brick wall and arched window. A…

Kadulin, Vladimir Fedorovich (1884-1957) Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Kadulin attended art schools in Moscow and Kiev, then turned to a career as a cartoonist for one of Petrograd’s leading newspapers. Postcard versions of his cartoons became very…

Kadulin, Vladimir Fedorovich (1884-1957) Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Kadulin attended art schools in Moscow and Kiev, then turned to a career as a cartoonist for one of Petrograd’s leading newspapers. Postcard versions of his cartoons became very…

The objects in this still life are candidly imperfect: all the bananas have spots; the apples are mottled or appear to have bruises. Still, their colors are vibrant and the table is replete. More of Kallem’s attention has been devoted to…