Frogs and Lily Pads (Grenouilles et Nénuphars) Vase
This vase is an early example of French designer René Lalique's experimentation with producing artistic glass. Lalique combines applied, cast, and molded glass techniques to achieve an ethereal effect of a murky swamp, a typical Art Nouveau motif. Lily pads adorn the surface with green frogs perched on top.
Details
- Palette
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- Medium
- glass
- Dimensions
- overall: height 0.21 m, width 0.298 m
- Origin
- France, 20th century
- Department
- Decorative Art and Design
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- John L. Severance Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Artistic Disciplines
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Design Metadata · 88%
The Cleveland Museum of Art classifies the work within Decorative Art and Design; the object is a designed decorative vessel.
Subject Matter
Styles and Movements
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Art Nouveau Both · 92%
The museum describes the murky-swamp motif as typical of Art Nouveau, and the vase visibly uses organic botanical and animal ornament consistent with that style.
Visual Qualities
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Transparent/Translucent Medium Visual · 98%
Light passes through the largely clear body while cloudy and more opaque areas produce visibly varied transparency.
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Highly Ornamented Visual · 94%
The vessel is densely embellished with overlapping lily pads, numerous frogs, and extensive linear surface detailing.
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Dark Colors Visual · 91%
The frogs and some raised decorative elements appear black to deep green against the pale glass body.
Medium and Techniques
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Glass and Ceramics Metadata · 96%
The museum classifies the object as Glass and describes applied, cast, and molded glass techniques.
Time Periods
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1900 - 1917 Art Metadata · 99%
The work is dated 1909–12, placing it within the catalog’s 1900–1917 period.
Geographic Regions
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French Art Metadata · 95%
The artist is identified as French and the place of origin is listed as France.
Materials
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Glass as Material Both · 99%
The clear and translucent vessel and its raised decorative elements are visibly glass, and the museum identifies the medium as glass.
Tableware, Vessels, and Objects
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Vase Both · 99%
The object has the form of a broad decorative vase, and the museum’s title identifies it as a vase.
Source & rights
René Lalique (French, 1860–1945). Frogs and Lily Pads (Grenouilles et Nénuphars) Vase. Cleveland Museum of Art.