Open full image Pin

Archetypa studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii [Part 2, Plate 10]

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 10] 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 image shows a detailed black-and-white drawing of insects and plants. A large moth sits on a branch with a caterpillar nearby, while other bugs like beetles and spiders are scattered around. Flowers and leaves fill the background, all drawn with sharp lines and shading. The tiny text at the top and bottom is in Latin, which was common for scientific or artistic notes back then. The artist focused on showing nature’s small, precise details, almost like a science book. Next, look up engraving to see how artists like this made prints using metal plates.

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