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Archetypa studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii [Part 2, Plate 3]

Jacob Hoefnagel

1592

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

Archetypa studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii [Part 2, Plate 3] is a 1592 ink by Jacob Hoefnagel, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Jacob Hoefnagel
When & what style?: 1592 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This engraving shows a close-up world of tiny creatures and plants. A dragonfly hovers at the top, its wings filled with fine lines. Below, a spider sits on a web, and a caterpillar clings to a leaf. Beetles, flowers, and pods fill the rest of the space, all drawn with careful detail. The artist used cross-hatching—tiny crisscrossed lines—to create shadows and texture. This made the insects look almost three-dimensional. Next, look up technique: engraving to see how artists like this made detailed prints.

About the artist

Artist

Jacob Hoefnagel

Jacob Hoefnagel (also 'Jacobus', 'Jakob' or 'Jakub") (1573 in Antwerp – c.1632 in Hamburg), was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman, art dealer, diplomat, merchant and politician.

See the richer artist page