1594
gouache
vellum
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Plate 55: A Hermann's or Greek Tortoise, Two European Pond Turtles, and Two Fritillaria is a 1594 gouache by Joris Hoefnagel, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This painting shows three tortoises and a plant with purple flowers. The tortoises have different shells—one is dark and smooth, another is yellowish with bumpy plates, and the third is small and black. The scene looks like a small pond with grassy land, and the whole image is framed in a circle with gold lines. The text at the top and bottom is in Latin, which roughly means "Should you eat turtle meat or not?" and "Turtles overcome virtue and wisdom." This suggests the artist might have been thinking about how animals were seen in their time. Next, look up Hoefnagel, Joris to see how he made these detailed nature drawings.
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542 – 24 July 1601) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant.
See the richer artist page
