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Art, in relation.

Botanical obsessions

Move across five collections to compare how artists record, stylize, or abstract living plant forms in cyanotype, ink, oil, and printed cotton.

An authored path / 5 works

What happens to a plant when it is pressed against light-sensitive paper, brushed in ink, painted in oil, or repeated on cloth?

These comparisons follow plants in the displayed images. Each stop keeps its own material, source and history.

Explore this description in the catalogue →
  1. Pale branching leaves and stems appear against a deep cyanotype blue.
    Spiraea aruncus (Tyrol)Anna Atkins · 1851–54The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0
    Image & source
    Pale branching leaves and stems appear against a deep cyanotype blue.

    Photography / Source record

    Spiraea aruncus (Tyrol)

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    Maker
    Anna Atkins
    Date
    1851–54
    Medium
    Cyanotype
    Collection
    The Metropolitan Museum of Art
    Accession
    2004.172
    Credit
    Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2004
    Rights
    Public domain · CC0

    Public domain · CC0. Resized and converted to WebP; no recoloring. Homepage details may be cropped; work record presents the full image. Editorial views may show a detail.

    Institution’s full-resolution image ↗Museum reuse policy ↗Original museum record ↗Read the CC0 dedication ↗

    01 / The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Look, then compare

    Spiraea aruncus (Tyrol)

    Begin with direct contact: Anna Atkins placed the specimen itself on sensitized paper so light traced its exact silhouette.

    Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance

    Cyanotype
    Anna Atkins · 1851–54

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  2. Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)
    Two magpies under an orchid cliffPossibly by Lü Ji (ca. 1420-ca. 1505); Formerly attributed to Zhao Chang (ca. 960-after 1015) · 15th centuryNational Museum of Asian Art · CC0
    Image & source
    Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)

    Painting / Source record

    Two magpies under an orchid cliff

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    Maker
    Possibly by Lü Ji (ca. 1420-ca. 1505); Formerly attributed to Zhao Chang (ca. 960-after 1015)
    Date
    15th century
    Medium
    Hanging scroll mounted on panel; ink and color on silk
    Collection
    National Museum of Asian Art
    Accession
    F1911.309
    Credit
    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
    Rights
    Public domain · CC0

    Public domain · CC0. Unchanged copy of the institution’s verified web image; smaller responsive JPEGs are resized derivatives. Full-resolution image remains linked to the institution. Editorial views may show a detail.

    Institution’s full-resolution image ↗Museum reuse policy ↗

    Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-21. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.

    Original museum record ↗Read the CC0 dedication ↗

    02 / National Museum of Asian Art / Look, then compare

    Two magpies under an orchid cliff

    Follow the long ink brushstrokes of orchid leaves springing from the rock in this hanging scroll at the National Museum of Asian Art.

    Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance

    Hanging scroll mounted on panel; ink and color on silk
    Possibly by Lü Ji (ca. 1420-ca. 1505); Formerly attributed to Zhao Chang (ca. 960-after 1015) · 15th century

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  3. Spring Flowers — Painting by Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). oil on canvas.
    Spring FlowersClaude Monet (French, 1840–1926) · 1864The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0
    Image & source
    Spring Flowers — Painting by Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). oil on canvas.

    Painting / Source record

    Spring Flowers

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    Maker
    Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)
    Date
    1864
    Medium
    oil on canvas
    Collection
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
    Accession
    1953.155
    Credit
    Gift of the Hanna Fund
    Rights
    Public domain · CC0

    Public domain · CC0. Institution-provided display image; no Artologium pixel changes. Original-resolution image linked at source. Editorial views may show a detail.

    Institution’s full-resolution image ↗Museum reuse policy ↗

    Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-17. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.

    Original museum record ↗Read the CC0 dedication ↗

    03 / The Cleveland Museum of Art / Look, then compare

    Spring Flowers

    Look at how dense passages of oil paint cluster petals and leaves in Cleveland’s still life.

    Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance

    oil on canvas
    Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) · 1864

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  4. DITES MERCI
    Dites MerciMeillier et Cie · ca. 1798Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum · CC0
    Image & source
    DITES MERCI

    Textile / Source record

    Dites Merci

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    Maker
    Meillier et Cie
    Date
    ca. 1798
    Medium
    Medium: cotton Technique: printed by engraved copper plate on plain weave
    Collection
    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
    Accession
    1943-43-12-a/d
    Credit
    Gift of W. and J. Sloane
    Rights
    Public domain · CC0

    Public domain · CC0. Unchanged copy of the institution’s verified web image; smaller responsive JPEGs are resized derivatives. Full-resolution image remains linked to the institution. Editorial views may show a detail.

    Institution’s full-resolution image ↗Museum reuse policy ↗

    Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-21. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.

    Original museum record ↗Read the CC0 dedication ↗

    04 / Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum / Look, then compare

    Dites Merci

    See how Raoul Dufy turns blossoms into a crisp, repeatable unit for printed cotton at Cooper Hewitt.

    Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance

    Medium: cotton Technique: printed by engraved copper plate on plain weave
    Meillier et Cie · ca. 1798

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  5. Pastel drawing of two figures in a sailboat, bright multi-colored clouds.
    Flower CloudsOdilon Redon French, 1840-1916 · c. 1903The Art Institute of Chicago · CC0
    Image & source
    Pastel drawing of two figures in a sailboat, bright multi-colored clouds.

    Drawing and Watercolor / Source record

    Flower Clouds

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    Maker
    Odilon Redon French, 1840-1916
    Date
    c. 1903
    Medium
    Pastel, with touches of stumping, incising, and brushwork, on blue-gray wove paper with multi-colored fibers altered to tan, perimeter mounted to cardboard
    Collection
    The Art Institute of Chicago
    Accession
    1990.165
    Credit
    Through prior bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection
    Rights
    Public domain · CC0

    Public domain · CC0. Unchanged copy of the institution’s verified web image; smaller responsive JPEGs are resized derivatives. Full-resolution image remains linked to the institution. Editorial views may show a detail.

    Institution’s full-resolution image ↗Museum reuse policy ↗

    Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-17. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.

    Original museum record ↗Read the CC0 dedication ↗

    05 / The Art Institute of Chicago / Look, then compare

    Flower Clouds

    End at the Art Institute of Chicago, where floral forms loosen into drifting clouds of colour on paper.

    Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance

    Pastel, with touches of stumping, incising, and brushwork, on blue-gray wove paper with multi-colored fibers altered to tan, perimeter mounted to cardboard
    Odilon Redon French, 1840-1916 · c. 1903

    Read the descriptions and evidence →

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