Six Insects

1646

Wenceslaus Hollar

Associated Names
Wenceslaus Hollar

Artist, Bohemian, 1607 - 1677

This is a drawing of various insects including butterflies and grasshoppers. The drawing portrays an assortment of insects meticulously sketched with fine lines to represent details in their wings and body structures. At the top, there are two butterflies with distinctive patterns and differences in shading on their wings. Below them, a smaller moth-like insect is depicted with a striped pattern on its body. The lower section showcases a large grasshopper with textured legs and body, detailed enough to emphasize its exoskeleton. To the right, another long-winged insect is presented with its elongated wings spread out. The overall composition harmoniously brings together different species, emphasizing the diversity and complexity of insect anatomy.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 8.2 × 12 cm (3 1/4 × 4 3/4 in.)
    sheet: 8.4 × 12.2 cm (3 5/16 × 4 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.4940

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 914, State i/iii

  • Series Title

    Muscarum Scarabeorum, Vermiumque Varie Figure & Formae

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Count Giuseppe Archinto [1783-1861], Milan (Lugt 52); Arkady Alferoff [1811-1872], Bonn (Lugt 1727); Rudolf Philip Goldschmidt [c.1840-1914], Berlin (Lugt 2926); (C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, May 7-9, 1928, lot 637); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1928; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2025

  • Little Beasts: Art Wonder and the Natural World, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2025.

Bibliography

1982

  • Pennington, Richard. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etched Work of Wenceslaus Hollar 1607-1677. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982, no. 2165, state i/iii.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Wenceslaus Hollar, Simon Turner, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. 914, state i/iii.

Inscriptions

in plate, at top left: W. Hollar fecit ex Collectione Arundeliana.; verso, lower left, in graphite, by a later hand: P. 2165; verso, lower right, in graphite, by a later hand: 637

Wikidata ID

Q65026344

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