Artwork

Plate 11: Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral Butterflies with a Mole Cricket

Plate 11: Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral Butterflies with a Mole Cricket is a gouache drawing by the Renaissance artist Joris Hoefnagel. It dates from 1594 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created circa 1594, this miniature drawing by Flemish artist Joris Hoefnagel depicts two vividly colored butterflies alongside a small mole cricket.

Created circa 1594, this miniature drawing by Flemish artist Joris Hoefnagel depicts two vividly colored butterflies alongside a small mole cricket. Executed on parchment with watercolor and touches of gold paint, the composition is set against an unadorned background, allowing the insects to dominate the visual field. The work exemplifies Hoefnagel’s meticulous approach to natural subjects, merging observation with decorative refinement.

Subject & Meaning

The left butterfly displays orange wings marked by black spots, while the right specimen features blue‑brown wings punctuated with red dots. The mole cricket, positioned in the lower corner and labeled “2,” is rendered in a curled posture. By presenting these organisms together, the drawing serves as a comparative study of insect morphology, reflecting a scholarly interest in cataloguing nature’s diversity.

Technique & Style

Hoefnagel employed transparent watercolor washes to build layered coloration, a method known as glazing, which creates depth and subtle tonal shifts. Fine gold pigment outlines the border and accentuates delicate details, a nod to manuscript illumination traditions. The precise brushwork and careful rendering of anatomical features illustrate the artist’s skill in combining scientific accuracy with the aesthetic conventions of late‑16th‑century Northern European miniatures.

History & Provenance

The piece belongs to a series of natural‑history plates produced by Hoefnagel for a private manuscript collection, intended as reference material for scholars and collectors. Though the original codex’s ownership history is fragmentary, the drawing has survived in a museum holding of early modern scientific illustrations, where it is cited as an example of the period’s emerging interest in systematic observation.