Skip to main content

Lotus Blossoms and Azolla, West Lake, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, 1980

Eliot Porter

Artwork Details

Lotus Blossoms and Azolla, West Lake, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, 1980
1980
Eliot Porter
dye transfer print on paper
17 1/2 in x 14 1/8 in (44.45 cm x 35.88 cm);22 3/16 in x 18 1/8 in (56.36 cm x 46.04 cm)
Gift of Clayton E. Wilhite
1987/1.252.1

Description

Subject Matter:

Photographed while looking down at a lakeside, this photograph shows an expanse of aqueous plants sprouting up from the freshwater shore. The water’s surface is covered with a film of thousands of tiny green leaves, out from which shoot the stems and fronds of other plants. The large, plate-like leaves of the lotus plant flop and tilt throughout the image, their silken surfaces dappled with pink droplets of water, which shine like gems across their surfaces. Punctuating this field of greens, jades, and emeralds are a few scattered lotus blossoms with brilliant pink petals. The downward angle of this photograph evokes a contemplative view of this quiet scene, which offers microcosmic perspective of this ecosystem.

Physical Description:

This photograph depicts a view looking down at a lakeshore teeming with aquatic plants and flowers.

Usage Rights:

If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.