Plate 19: Two Butterflies with Five Other Insects
1594
gouache
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1594
gouache
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
You see a stiff sheet of parchment with gold edges. Two butterflies anchor the top, their wings spread like paper cut-outs. Five smaller insects—beetles, a fly, a moth—cluster below, each drawn with tiny, precise brushstrokes. This isn’t just a bug collection. Hoefnagel used watercolor so thin it’s almost see-through, then glazed gold behind the wings to make them glow. It’s like he pressed a coin behind glass. If you like this, look up Hoefnagel, Joris.
