Turtles c. 1830s

"Turtles" is a hand-painted uchiwa-e (fan painting) by the Japanese artist Yamada Hōgyoku (1804-1844) dating from the 1830s. The work depicts four turtles in a simple, yet detailed, blue ink against a white background. The artist's signature is prominently placed in the upper right corner, a common practice in Japanese art. The piece is currently part of the collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The work exemplifies the graceful and stylized nature of uchiwa-e, a genre often featuring depictions of nature or everyday life.