Swallow-tailed Butterfly and Twelve Other Insects

1644-1652

Wenceslaus Hollar

Associated Names
Wenceslaus Hollar

Artist, Bohemian, 1607 - 1677

The image shows a large butterfly with black and white striped patterns on its wings surrounded by smaller insects, including butterflies, bees, beetles, and other insects. The color palette is monochromatic, with shades of black and grey against a beige background. The central butterfly is in the middle, with other insects positioned around it.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 11.8 × 18.2 cm (4 5/8 × 7 3/16 in.)
    sheet: 12.8 × 19.1 cm (5 1/16 × 7 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.4953

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 1267, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Fritz Rumpf [1856-1927], Potsdam (Lugt 2161); (C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, May 7-9, 1928, lot 638); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1928; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1971

  • A Selection of 17th Century Intaglio Prints from the National Gallery of Art Rosenwald Collection, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, 1971-1972, no. 21.

Bibliography

1982

  • Pennington, Richard. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etched Work of Wenceslaus Hollar 1607-1677. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982, no. 2178, state only.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Wenceslaus Hollar, Simon Turner, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. 1267, state only.

Wikidata ID

Q65026357

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