Jan van Kessel and Joris Hoefnagel's detailed paintings of insects and flora are currently featured in the National Gallery of Art's exhibition "Little Beasts: Art, Wonder and the Natural World". This showcase highlights the intricate beauty of nature captured in 16th- and 17th-century European art. The surge in trade during this period sparked a fascination with the natural world, leading to masterful works that include a plethora of insects. Each piece reflects the artists' precision and passion for detailing, offering viewers a chance to appreciate the wonders of small creatures and the art they inspired.
Hoefnagel travelled widely, fixing his gaze on the small and intricate. As a luxury merchant, he ventured to France and Spain, of which he noted: 'He who has not witnessed Seville has not witnessed miracles.' Art lovers in Europe commissioned pictures of their own acquired miracles or cabinets of curiosity.
Arrayed in the National Gallery of Art show Little Beasts: Art, Wonder and the Natural World, in Washington, DC, are paintings and prints by Van Kessel and Joris Hoefnagel, among others, from 16th- and 17th-century Europe, when expanding trade routes brought the study of nature—and nature as art—to new heights.
If insects, as the English naturalist Thomas Moffett wrote in 1590, are for the 'delight of the eyes' and the 'pleasure of the ears', then these pictures are pure joy.
Hoefnagel made 300 watercolour miniatures for one series, and Van Kessel's oeuvre included more than 700 works. Here, the minute is monumental.
Collection
[
|
...
]