Thistle with Insects

c. 1755

Johann Christoph Dietzsch

Associated Names
Johann Christoph Dietzsch

Artist, German, 1710 - 1769

The image shows a thistle plant with spiky leaves and a cluster of flower buds, one of which has a caterpillar on top. In the lower left corner, a butterfly with orange and brown wings sits on a leaf, and a spider is seen on a web near the center. The color palette consists of greens, browns, and dark tones. The thistle is positioned vertically in the center of the composition, surrounded by leaves spreading outward in different directions.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gouache on black prepared vellum

  • Credit Line

    Gift of J. Carter Brown

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 28.6 x 20.6 cm (11 1/4 x 8 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2007.88.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

L & R Entwistle and Co LTd., London; J. Carter Brown, Washington, D.C., 1992; gift to NGA, 2006.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2008

  • Medieval to Modern: Recent Acquisitions of Drawings, Prints, and Illustrated Books, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2008, no. 56.

Inscriptions

by later hand, upper right verso in brown ink: 5130

Wikidata ID

Q64581892

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