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Pieter Withoos

Study of Four Butterflies and a Bumblebee, ca. 1680

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Pieter Withoos, 1654-1693, Dutch

Title

Study of Four Butterflies and a Bumblebee

Year

ca. 1680

Medium

Watercolor and opaque watercolor over graphite on vellum prepared with white chalk

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • gouache,
  • watercolor,
  • graphite

Supports

  • Vellum

Dimensions

30 x 21.9 cm (11 13/16 x 8 5/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed in black ink, LR corner:p:Withoos:fe:

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Ernest and Pearl Nathan Fund

Object Number

82.025

Projects & Publications

Publications

RISD STEAM/Discovery Through Juxtaposition

Read Online

Old Master Drawings from the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer

March 12 - September 4, 2022

Four butterflies and a bumblebee are artfully arranged on the white expanse of this expensive vellum sheet. Each insect is meticulously depicted, seemingly with scientific accuracy. At a time when collecting natural specimens was a popular pastime for wealthy Europeans, Dutch artists were using the microscope and other technological advances to observe and describe these natural “wonders” with exacting precision. While this drawing suggests the immediacy of scientific illustration, it was primarily executed as a demonstration of the artist’s skill.

Design and Description

January 27 - April 9, 2006

Under the Magnifying Glass

September 22, 2000 - January 14, 2001

This watercolor is remarkable for its intricate detail and trompe-l'oeil ("fool the eye") effect, a trademark of Dutch still-life painting. Withoos's technique, which involved layering on watercolor with a very fine brush, was undoubtedly executed with the aid of a magnifying lens. The use of vellum (a fine parchment made of calf-, lamb-, or kidskin) for this drawing sets it apart from more preliminary sketches, since the precious material was only used for highly finished works. Although his work often takes on a quasi-scientific function, Withoos was first and foremost an artist by training who used insect subjects for a highly aesthetic purpose. Clearly influenced by the style of the Netherlandish miniature tradition, his work is best seen in relation to other 17th-century Dutch artists who combined the roles of artist and natural historian. Among the reasons for the immense popularity of insects as artistic subjects in late 16th-century and early 17th-century Europe was a growing curiosity about the previously unseen natural world, made increasingly visible by the invention and refinement of lens technology and the telescope and microscope. The honeybee is reported to have been the first insect whose parts were illustrated (published 1625) with the assistance of a microscope. The butterfly was a particularly popular subject. Its dramatic metamorphosis symbolized God's infinite power in minute form and provided an almost inexhaustible range of artistic possibilities.

Treasures on Paper

June 13 - August 19, 1989

Old Master Drawings

September 2 - October 16, 1983

Recent Gifts and Acquisitions

November 5, 1982 - January 2, 1983

Related

Jacob de Wit

Study of Bearded Man, late 1600s-mid 1700s

More objects +

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Study of Four Butterflies and a Bumblebee with the accession number of 82.025. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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