Artwork
Plate 49: A Grasshopper, a Caterpillar, a Butterfly, a Moth, and Other Insects
Plate 49: A Grasshopper, a Caterpillar, a Butterfly, a Moth, and Other Insects is a gouache drawing by the Renaissance artist Joris Hoefnagel. It dates from 1594 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:Insects in image numbered .1., 2., .3, .4., and .5., in red ink; center right in brown ink: XXXXIX. Facing page: Upper center in red ink: Dedit erugini fructus impiorum et labores / eorum Locustae ps:77. (“He gave up their fruits to the blast and their labors to the locusts.” Psalms 77:46) (Latin Vulgate Bible)
About this work
Overview
Plate 49: A Grasshopper, a Caterpillar, a Butterfly, a Moth, and Other Insects is a watercolor and gold paint work on parchment created by Joris Hoefnagel around 1594.
Subject & Meaning
The work is a detailed study of various insects, each labeled like a specimen, reflecting Hoefnagel's attention to natural subjects and serving an educational purpose in the field of natural history.
Technique & Style
Hoefnagel employed watercolor and gold paint to achieve a high level of detail, using the gold to outline the insects' features and create a sense of luminosity.
History & Provenance
The work is now held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, having been created for European nobles who commissioned natural history illustrations.
Context
As a Flemish artist and one of the last manuscript illuminators, Hoefnagel contributed to the development of topographical drawing and the emergence of floral still-life painting in northern Europe.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542 – 24 July 1601) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant.
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