Shell in art: paintings, drawings and prints

Still life with shells

Paolo Porpora (Italian), oil on canvas

Fondation Custodia, France

Fall (From the Cycle: the Four Seasons), Fernand Léger

Fall (From the Cycle: the Four Seasons), 1928.

L'automne (du cycle: les quatre saisons) (museum title)

Fernand Léger (French), oil on canvas

Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland

Jak Fruit, Singapore, 1876.

Marianne North (British), oil

Marianne North Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom

The Fisherman's Family, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

The Fisherman's Family, 1887.

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (French), oil on canvas

Art Institute of Chicago, United States

Poseidon and Amphitrite, c. 1913.

Rupert Bunny (Australian), oil on canvas

National Gallery of Australia

Venus in the shell, avant 79 apr. J.-C..

Vénus à la coquille (museum title)

Ancient Rome (Italian), fresco

House of Venus in the Shell, Pompeii, Italy

Still Life with Dressing Table, Max Beckmann

Still Life with Dressing Table, 1940.

Stilleben mit Toilettentisch (museum title)

Max Beckmann (German), oil on canvas

Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany

The Birth of Venus, 1875.

Alexandre Cabanel (French), oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art, United States

Venus a la Coquelle: or the Swan-sea Venus, James Gillray

Venus a la Coquelle: or the Swan-sea Venus, 1809.

James Gillray (British), hand-colored etching

Metropolitan Museum of Art, United States

Venus and Mars, c. 1485.

Vénus et Mars (museum title)

Sandro Botticelli (Italian), oil and tempera on wood

National Gallery, United Kingdom

Miss Annette Hage (1814-1857) Showing her Nephew Hother Hage (1849-1904) a Book of Plant Illustrations, Wilhelm Marstrand

Miss Annette Hage (1814-1857) Showing her Nephew Hother Hage (1849-1904) a Book of Plant Illustrations, 1856.

Frk. Annette Hage (1814-1857) viser sin brodersøn Hother… (museum title)

Wilhelm Marstrand (Danish), oil on canvas

Nivaagaard Collection, Denmark

Odalisque, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

Odalisque, c. 1830.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French), oil on canvas

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, United States

Jan Lutma, goldsmith, Rembrandt van Rijn

Jan Lutma, goldsmith, 1656.

De goudsmid Jan Lutma (museum title)

Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch), etching

Rijksmuseum, Netherlands

The Ray, 1728.

La Raie (museum title)

Jean Siméon Chardin (French), oil on canvas

Louvre Museum, France

The Triumph of Galatea

Galatea (museum title)

Raphaël (Italian), fresco

Villa Farnesina, Italy

Woman at the beach, 1892.

Femme à la mer (museum title)

Paul Gauguin (French), oil on canvas

National Museum of Fine Arts, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sudare-gai, 1821.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese)

Rijksmuseum, Netherlands

The Birth of Venus, 1879.

La Naissance de Vénus (museum title)

William Bouguereau (French), oil on canvas

Musée d'Orsay, France

(Illustration for Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám) The Present Listening to the Voices of the Past, Elihu Vedder

(Illustration for Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám) The Present Listening to the Voices of the Past, 1883–1884.

Elihu Vedder (American), craie, crayon, encre et aquarelle sur papier

Smithsonian American Art Museum, United States

The Buffet, 1728.

Le Buffet (museum title)

Jean Siméon Chardin (French), oil on canvas

Louvre Museum, France

The Birth of Venus, 1635.

La Naissance de Vénus (museum title)

Nicolas Poussin (French), oil on canvas

Philadelphia Museum of Art, United States

Minase-gai, 1821.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese)

Chester Beatty Library, Ireland

Suzume-gai, 1821.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese)

Rijksmuseum, Netherlands

The Birth of Venus, 1480s.

La Naissance de Vénus (museum title)

Sandro Botticelli (Italian), tempera on canvas

Uffizi Gallery, Italy

Still Life with Bread and Sweetmeats, Georg Flegel

Still Life with Bread and Sweetmeats, 1633–1636.

Georg Flegel (German), oil on wood

Städel Museum, Germany

Sketches from Life: Oysters and Clams, Shen Zhou

Sketches from Life: Oysters and Clams, 1494.

明沈周寫生冊蠣房與蛤 (museum title)

Shen Zhou (Chinese), ink on paper

National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taïwan

Butterflies, c. 1910.

Papillons (museum title)

Odilon Redon (French), oil on cardboard

Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Germany

Bathers, 1919.

Baigneuses (museum title)

Raoul Dufy (French), oil on canvas

Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne, France

Noboto at Shimōsa, 1832–1833.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese), woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Metropolitan Museum of Art, United States

Shell studies, 1856–1857.

Studier av konkylie (museum title)

Adolph Tidemand (Norwegian), pencil and watercolor on paper

National Museum of Norway

Glaucus and Scylla, 1841.

J. M. W. Turner (British), oil on wood panel

Kimbell Art Museum, United States

The Gutter Shell, 1821.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese)

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, United States

Forest Floor with a Crab, Butterflies, Toads, Shells and Tortoises, Paolo Porpora

Forest Floor with a Crab, Butterflies, Toads, Shells and Tortoises, 1650.

Sottobosco con granchio, farfalle, rospi, conchiglie e… (museum title)

Paolo Porpora (Italian), oil on canvas

Gallerie d'Italia (Naples), Italy

Man of African Origin, 1641.

Mand af afrikansk herkomst (museum title)

Albert Eckhout (Dutch), oil on canvas

National Museum of Denmark (Copenhagen), Denmark

Batismo de Jesus, 1895.

Almeida Júnior (Brazilian), oil on canvas

Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Brazil

Shells by the Sea, c. 1925.

Coquillages au bord de la mer (museum title)

Raoul Dufy (French), oil on canvas

Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne, France

Le Souper à Emmaüs, 1601.

Caravaggio (Italian), oil on canvas

National Gallery, United Kingdom

The Bathers, 1897.

Paul Gauguin (French), oil on canvas

National Gallery of Art, United States

Still Life with Cat and Ray, Jean Siméon Chardin

Still Life with Cat and Ray, 1728.

Still-Life With Cat and Rayfish (museum title)

Jean Siméon Chardin (French), oil on canvas

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Spain

La Vierge assise, embrassant l'enfant Jésus, Albrecht Dürer

La Vierge assise, embrassant l'enfant Jésus, 1513.

Albrecht Dürer (German), engraving on paper

National Gallery of Art, United States

Myriad grasses shell, Katsushika Hokusai

Myriad grasses shell, 1821.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese)

Art Gallery of South Australia

Woman of African Origin with a Child, Albert Eckhout

Woman of African Origin with a Child, 1641.

Kvinde og barn af afrikansk herkomst (museum title)

Albert Eckhout (Dutch), oil on canvas

National Museum of Denmark (Copenhagen), Denmark

The Birth of Venus, 1912.

La Naissance de Vénus (museum title)

Odilon Redon (French), oil on canvas

Museum of Modern Art, United States

The Pearl of Great Price (The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ), John Everett Millais

The Pearl of Great Price (The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ), 1864.

John Everett Millais (British), woodblock print

Metropolitan Museum of Art, United States

Underwater Vision, 1910.

Odilon Redon (French), oil on canvas

Museum of Modern Art, United States

Vegetables and banana plant, image 1

강세황 필 채소도와 파초도 (museum title)

Kang Se-hwang (Korean), ink and color on paper

National Museum of Korea, Corée du Sud

Cats for the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Cats for the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, 1847–1850.

Katten voor de 53 stations van de Tokaido (museum title)

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese), colour woodcut on paper

Rijksmuseum, Netherlands

Sadko, 1876.

Садко (museum title)

Ilya Répine (Russian), oil on canvas

State Russian Museum, Russia

Japanese Still Life, 1879.

Elihu Vedder (American), oil on canvas

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, United States

Akoya-gai, 1821.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese)

Rijksmuseum, Netherlands