Artwork
A thistle with snakes and butterflies
A thistle with snakes and butterflies is an unspecified painting by Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton. It dates from 1718 and is held in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1718, this oil painting presents a solitary thistle at the centre of a darkened setting, its spiky foliage and stout stem encircled by two coiled snakes—one brown, one green. Around the plant flutter three white butterflies and a single orange specimen, their delicate wings contrasting with the dense, shadowy background that hints at foliage.
Subject & Meaning
The composition juxtaposes the prickly thistle with serpents and butterflies, pairing symbols of danger and transformation. While the thistle often denotes resilience, the snakes may evoke notions of mortality or rebirth, and the butterflies suggest fleeting beauty. Together they form a study of natural cycles, emphasizing the coexistence of threat and fragility within a single botanical scene.
Technique & Style
Hamilton employs meticulous brushwork to render botanical and zoological details with scientific precision.
Hamilton employs meticulous brushwork to render botanical and zoological details with scientific precision. Textural contrasts are achieved through layered glazing that gives the thistle’s leaves a tactile quality, while the snakes’ scales and the butterflies’ translucent wings are modeled with fine, almost microscopic shading. The dark, indistinct backdrop serves to isolate the subjects, enhancing their three‑dimensional presence.
History & Provenance
The work is attributed to Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton, a Flemish‑born artist active in the late Dutch Golden Age and early 18th‑century Britain. Known for his still‑life depictions of forest floors and fauna, Hamilton produced this piece toward the end of his career. It entered the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of European decorative art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton, also Carl Wilhelm de Hamilton, Charles William de Hamilton, or Karel-William Von Hamilton (1668 in Brussels – 23 February 1754 in Augsburg) was a painter born at the end of the Dutch Golden Age.
