About the Frog

1989-1990, tempera, watercolour on paper, 27,5x19,5 cm /// Kārlis Dobrājs (1943) is one of the classics of Latvian painting. The series of drawings was commissioned for the book “Vēja Vanadziņš” (“Windy Accipiter”, 1993). It compiles a selection of artistic representations of Latvian legends and tales, with a visually depicted narrative of the stories themselves. The coloured, hand-drawn illustrations are original works, with each being a one-of-a-kind piece. Many of the Latvian folktales explaining weird or unexplained phenomena on earth. The legend about the frog reflects on why the frog is the way it is. Although the illustration depicts a man, not a frog, the story is about a frog that has eaten all the grain. The farmer went to complain to God and the frog was punished for its negligence.