Frogs and shrines: an aesthetic odyssey

Artists featured in this Curation: unknown artist, Johann König (1586–1642), Paolo Porpora (1617–1673), Johann Hulsman (d. before 1652), Matthias Withoos (1627–1703), Melchior de Hondecoeter (1636–1695), Willem van Aelst (1627–after 1687), Robert Robinson (d.1706), Johann Caspar Lavater (1741–1801), César van Loo (1743–1821), and 16 more See all

39 artworks

Storyline Album Showcase

A Chinese Sage, Accompanied by His Young Assistant, Blesses a Frog
unknown artist
Gouache on paper
H 21 x W 26 cm
Wellcome Collection

Image credit: Wellcome Collection
Surya* 15th C
unknown artist
Bronze
H 14 cm
National Museums Scotland

Image credit: National Museums Scotland
Latona Changing the Lycian Peasants into Frogs 1610–1613
Johann König (1586–1642) (attributed to)
Oil on copper
H 18.5 x W 25.4 cm
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Image credit: The Courtauld
Still Life with a Snake, Frogs and a Tortoise
Paolo Porpora (1617–1673)
Oil on canvas
H 52.3 x W 95.2 cm
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

Image credit: Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
Latona Transforming the Peasants into Frogs
Johann Hulsman (d. before 1652)
Oil on copper
H 23.8 x W 30.5 cm
The Fitzwilliam Museum

Image credit: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Still Life with Frog and Goldfinch (Thistles and Butterflies)
Matthias Withoos (1627–1703)
Oil on canvas
H 85 x W 67 cm
Nottingham City Museums & Galleries

Image credit: Nottingham City Museums & Galleries
Birds, Butterflies and a Frog among Plants and Fungi 1668
Melchior de Hondecoeter (1636–1695)
Oil on canvas
H 68.3 x W 56.8 cm
The National Gallery, London

Image credit: The National Gallery, London
Still Life with Carnations 1682
Willem van Aelst (1627–after 1687)
Oil on canvas
H 49.5 x W 40.2 cm
Brighton & Hove Museums

Image credit: Brighton & Hove Museums
A Chinese Princess at a Shrine c.1696
Robert Robinson (d.1706)
Oil on panel
H 217.2 x W 78.9 cm
Paintings Collection

Image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The Head of a Frog, in the Fourth Stage of a Physiognomic Metamorphosis into an Ideal Head of Apollo
Johann Caspar Lavater (1741–1801)
Pencil & watercolour on paper (?)
H 7.8 x W 6.7 cm
Wellcome Collection

Image credit: Wellcome Collection
Classical River Landscape
César van Loo (1743–1821)
Oil on canvas
H 81.5 x W 105 cm
Haworth Art Gallery

Image credit: Haworth Art Gallery
Homer c.1800
William Blake (1757–1827)
Tempera on canvas
H 40 x W 84 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

Image credit: Manchester Art Gallery
Bengal Landscape with a Hindu Shrine or Tomb c.1820
George Chinnery (1774–1852)
Oil on canvas
H 12.7 x W 17.8 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

Image credit: National Galleries of Scotland
A Puppy Teasing a Frog 1824
Edwin Henry Landseer (1802–1873)
Oil on panel
H 35.5 x W 44.5 cm
Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library

Image credit: Bridgeman Images
Study of a Frog
Edwin Henry Landseer (1802–1873)
Oil on paper
H 10.2 x W 13 cm
Paintings Collection

Image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
A Hindu Praying to a Shrine Accompanied by a Young Lady c.1840
unknown artist
Gouache & oxidised gold on paper (?)
H 40.7 x W 31.1 cm
Wellcome Collection

Image credit: Wellcome Collection
Shrine of Saint Gomar at Lierre, Belgium 1849
David Roberts (1796–1864)
Oil on canvas
H 81.3 x W 68.5 cm
Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library

Image credit: Bridgeman Images
Two Woman at a Shrine of the Shiva Linga 19th C (?)
unknown artist
Gouache, pen & ink on paper (?)
H 21.7 x W 14.6 cm
Wellcome Collection

Image credit: Wellcome Collection
Two Frogs in a Lily Pond
unknown artist
Watercolour on paper
H 35 x W 24 cm
Wellcome Collection

Image credit: Wellcome Collection
A Wayside Shrine post 1840s
Giovanni Battista Camuccini (1819–1904)
Oil on card laid on canvas
H 29.5 x W 29.5 cm
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Image credit: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Female Deity Standing on a Frog 19th C
unknown artist
Brass
H 4.5 x W 4.3 x D 4.3 cm
Hartlepool Museums and Heritage Service

Image credit: Hartlepool Museums and Heritage Service
Tree Frogs, Found amongst Dead Leaves, Brazil c.1873
Marianne North (1830–1890)
Oil on board
H 10 x W 18 cm
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Image credit: The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Saponaire or Periwinkle and Green Frogs in Mahé c.1883
Marianne North (1830–1890)
Oil on board
H 35.1 x W 25.2 cm
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Image credit: The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Rocky Landscape with a Wayside Shrine
Hubert von Herkomer (1849–1914)
Watercolour on paper
H 49 x W 74 cm
Bushey Museum and Art Gallery

Image credit: Bushey Museum and Art Gallery
Two Frogs
unknown artist
Pencil & watercolour on paper (?)
H 45.5 x W 27.5 cm
Wellcome Collection

Image credit: Wellcome Collection
Pawangurh above Champaneer, A Very Holy Shrine of the Hindus 1880s
Marianne North (1830–1890)
Oil on paper
H 24 x W 35.4 cm
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Image credit: The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Jagannatha Triad early 20th C
Indian School
Pigment on textile
H 37.1 x W 47.4 cm
Horniman Museum and Gardens

Image credit: Horniman Museum and Gardens
The Jagannatha Triad early 20th C
Indian School
Paint on canvas
H 46.5 x W 46.5 cm
Horniman Museum and Gardens

Image credit: Horniman Museum and Gardens
Frog 1919–1935
Tom Charman (1863–1939)
Wood & string
H 3 x W 12 x D 7.5 cm
The New Forest Heritage Centre

Image credit: The New Forest Heritage Centre
Pilgrims with Roses Worship a Snake Shrine while a Brahmin Priest and Attendants Pray during a Snake Festival
unknown artist
Gouache & oxidised silver on paper (?)
H 36.3 x W 30.4 cm
Wellcome Collection

Image credit: Wellcome Collection
Frog 20th C
Alfred James Oakley (1878–1959)
Soapstone & wood
H 15 x W 15 x D 7 cm
Buckinghamshire County Museum

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Buckinghamshire County Museum
Seven Animals from Japan, including Two Frogs, a Snail, a Slug, a Water Bug and a Silver Fish
unknown artist
Ink, wash & gouache on linen
H 22.8 x W 34.9 cm
Wellcome Collection

Image credit: Wellcome Collection
Bullfrog 1951
Lynn Chadwick (1914–2003)
Bronze composite
H 31 x W 23 x D 18.5 cm
Pembroke College Oxford JCR Art Collection

© the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Pembroke College Oxford JCR Art Collection
Untitled 1976–1979
Graham Foster (b.1950)
Oil, acrylic & industrial paint on board
H 243.6 x W 167.5 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre

© the artist. Image credit: Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London
Logos 1985
Aubrey Williams (1926–1990)
Oil on canvas
H 61.1 x W 45.7 cm
University of Warwick

© Estate of Aubrey Williams. All rights reserved, DACS 2023. Image credit: University of Warwick
Bes Keba'tak, the Frog Spirit 1989
unknown artist
Wood
H 23 x W 11 x D 7.5 cm
Horniman Museum and Gardens

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Horniman Museum and Gardens
Composition 1 (Frog)*
Anthony Preston Hillier (1942–2014)
Oil on board
H 76 x W 116 cm
Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge

© the artist's estate. Image credit: Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge
Frog 2004
Julia Graves
Acrylic on papier-mâché
H 32.6 x W 40.8 cm
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
German Sayings 1, 'Seidoch Keen Frosch' (Don't be a Frog) 2005
Stephen Mumberson (b.1955)
Lithograph on paper
H 38 x W 53 cm
Scarborough Museums and Galleries

© the artist. Image credit: Scarborough Museums and Galleries