1594
gouache
vellum
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Plate 8: Orange Tip, Painted Lady, Southern Small White, and Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies is a 1594 gouache by Joris Hoefnagel, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This drawing shows four butterflies pinned to a circle of parchment. The top left one has yellow and orange wings. The top right is pale with speckled gray. The bottom one is bright orange with black spots. They’re all drawn carefully, with tiny details on their wings. The artist used a mix of watercolor and gold paint to make the butterflies look real. The gold frame around them makes the whole thing feel fancy. This style was common in the 1500s. Next, look up Hoefnagel, Joris to see more of his precise, detailed work.
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542 – 24 July 1601) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant.
See the richer artist page
