Fanciful depiction of a cicada
after 1862
Medium
Opaque and transparent watercolor, graphite, and pen and dark brown ink on off-white laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 1/8 × 16 7/8 in. (33.3 × 42.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Roberta J.M. Olson and Alexander B.V. Johnson, 2022
Accession Number
2022.457.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Fanciful depiction of cicada*, created by an anonymous German artist after 1862, the insect's intricate form with imaginative flair on off-white laid paper. Measuring 13 1/8 × 16 7/8 inches, the work belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of's Drawings and Prints department a 2022 gift from Roberta J.M. Olson and B.V. Johnson.ed in opaque and transparent watercolor, graphite pen, and dark brown, it exemplifies 19th-century drafting techniques where layered media brought natural subjects to vivid life. The artist's use of graphite for subtle underdrawing, precise pen-and-ink lines f...