Plate 59: Seven Insects, Including a Hawthorn Shield Bug, Crane Flies, and a Hoverfly
1594
gouache
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1594
gouache
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This watercolor shows seven insects on a parchment background. A hawthorn shield bug sits near crane flies and a hoverfly. Gold paint adds tiny highlights to the bugs’ wings and shells. Artists before Hoefnagel rarely painted insects so precisely. Books used woodcuts for bugs, but this is a tiny painting meant to impress collectors. The colors stay bright after 450 years. Look up Hoefnagel, Joris next.
