1594
gouache
vellum
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Plate 26: Two Hawk Moths is a 1594 gouache by Joris Hoefnagel, a Renaissance work, depicting Insect, held at National Gallery of Art.
This painting shows two hawk moths on a branch. Their wings are bright pink with black stripes. Gold leaf dots the branch like tiny stars. Joris Hoefnagel painted this in watercolor on parchment, not canvas. He used a method called glazing—layering thin, see-through colors to make the moths look real. His work helped start a trend of detailed nature drawings. This artist loved tiny details. See how he caught the moths' fuzzy bodies? Next, look up Joris Hoefnagel.
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542 – 24 July 1601) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant.
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