Signed and dated in the lower right; edition number in the lower left.
There is slight undulation to the margins on all sides.
There are multiple small brown spots scattered overall.
There is also overall evidence of spot-like foxing (mold marks).
As the work is directly mounted to a backing board, the reverse has not been examined.

Publisher: the artist and Simca Print Artists, Inc.,

New York

While the lines in this work appear to run freely in every direction, their colors are in fact carefully organized. Prior to creating the print "Cicada," Jasper Johns had already worked on paintings in which the three primary colors — red, yellow, and blue — were placed in the central area, with the equitone colors (colors mixed from those primaries) arranged on either side, as well as works in which this order was reversed. This same rule is carried over into the print, with lines of mixed colors placed at both outer edges. It has also been suggested that this arrangement evokes the image of a cicada gently spreading its delicate wings.
This work is considered one of the representative pieces from the series in which Johns employed the technique of crosshatching.