# Lotuses, Insects, and Birds

**Unknown artist**  
1800s  
hanging scroll; ink and color on silk  
Image: 112.6 x 57.5 cm (44 5/16 x 22 5/8 in.); Overall: 174.5 x 77.5 cm (68 11/16 x 30 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1985.18. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.18).

## About this work

Pairs of herons, kingfishers, and dragonflies punctuate a profusion of lotus in this composition that, given the orientation of the herons and the clustering of motifs in the left-hand side of the work, may have once been the left painting of a pair. Given its subject matter, this hanging scroll may have been hung for display during the summer.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

An unrecorded Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) artist painted this in the 1800s. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Hanging scroll.** A painting mounted on silk with a wooden roller at the foot. It was rolled up for storage and brought out to hang for a season, a guest or an occasion.
- **Ink and colour on silk.** Silk was sized with glue and alum so it would hold a crisp brushline, and mineral colours were built up in thin layers. The sheen of the weave still shows through.

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910)
- Real size: about 69 × 31 in (175 × 78 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 18th century
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/722.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/722/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/lotuses-insects-and-birds-cma-152317).