Artwork preview

Cone-headed Grasshopper or Locust, (batta); Praying Mantis (Tōrō or Kamakiri), from the Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (Ehon mushi erami)

Kitagawa Utamaro

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image shows a two-panel illustration of insects and plants. A green and brown grasshopper or locust with a cone-shaped head is on the left panel, on a branch with green seed pods. The right panel shows a yellow pumpkin with green leaves and a praying mantis. The praying mantis is drawn in two views: one colored and one outline. The background is beige with a thin black border around the panels. There are Japanese characters written vertically on the left panel.

Artwork Details

Date
1788
Medium
Page from woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper
Culture
Japan
Dimensions
600 × 408 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette