1594
gouache
vellum
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Plate 64: Leopard Slug, Ground Beetle Larva, a Rat-tailed Maggot, and Other Creatures is a 1594 gouache by Joris Hoefnagel, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This image shows five small creatures drawn in detail on a round, gold-edged background. There’s a long slug with dark spots, a curled-up beetle, a larva with a brown shell, a tiny maggot with a tail, and a small dried leaf. The colors are muted—browns, blacks, and soft golds—with careful lines marking each creature’s shape. The artist labeled each creature with numbers, almost like a science notebook. This kind of close-up drawing was often used in the past to study nature. Next, look up Hoefnagel, Joris to see more of his precise animal drawings.
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542 – 24 July 1601) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant.
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