Mushrooms in art

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Mushrooms appear in art all over the world, from ancient times to today. They show up in Western and non‑Western works and are often given symbolic meanings.

In Mayan culture, mushroom stones show faces with dreamlike expressions, suggesting mushrooms could cause visions or trances. Some Mayan codices may also depict hallucinogenic mushrooms. Other examples come from the Pegtymel petroglyphs in Russia and Japanese netsuke figurines.

In contemporary art, mushrooms appear in many forms. A Japanese work shows baskets of matsutake mushrooms on top of banknotes, linking mushrooms with prosperity. Contemporary artists such as Anselm Kiefer (Über Deutschland) and Sonja Bäumel (Objects not static and silent but alive and talking) explore ideas like sustainable living, new materials, and ethics in science and biotechnology. Fungi can also be used to create interactive art.

Mushrooms appear in Christian paintings too. Hieronymus Bosch’s Haywain Triptych is seen as the first modern depiction of a mushroom. Another Bosch triptych, The Garden of Earthly Delights, contains scenes that resemble experiences with psychoactive mushrooms. Amanita muscaria is often linked to these themes of mind‑altering or hallucinogenic use.

There is a Registry of Mushrooms in Works of Art, kept by the North American Mycological Association. It aims to show how mushrooms and people relate in art across history and to share enjoyment. It began with Elio Schaechter, author of In the Company of Mushrooms, and it continues to catalog art by period and artist.