Dandelions in Art, Part 1 of 2~

“Taraxacum officinale, the dandelion or common dandelion, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant, well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of silver-tufted fruits that disperse in the wind.
The common dandelion grows in temperate regions of the world in areas with moist soils. It is most often considered a weed, especially in lawns and along roadsides, but the leaves, flowers, and roots are sometimes used in herbal medicine and as food.”
~https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_officinale

The First Dandelion
Simple and fresh and fair from winter’s close emerging,
As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics, had ever been,
Forth from its sunny nook of shelter’d grass—innocent, golden,
calm as the dawn,
The spring’s first dandelion shows its trustful face.
~Walt Whitman (1819-1892) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/walt-whitman

1. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) with a caterpillar from The Book of Flower Studies, c.1510–1515, by Master of Claude de France
https://frenchly.us/art-master-of-claude-de-france/
Opaque water color, organic glazes, gold and silver paint, iron and carbon-based ink and charcoal on parchment / The Met Cloisters, New York, NY
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/823979

2. A Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) with a Tiger Moth, a Butterfly, a Snail, and a Beetle, c.1730, by Barbara Regina Dietzsch (1706-1783)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Regina_Dietzsch
Opaque watercolor on parchment / Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
https://www.famsf.org/artworks/a-dandelion-taraxacum-officinale-with-a-tiger-moth-a-butterfly-a-snail-and-a-beetle

3. Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 3: Sparrows and Dandelions, c.1820 by Teisai Hokuba (1771-1844)
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG1797
Privately published woodblock prints (surimono) mounted in an album; ink and color on paper / The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/54148