Butterfly, Caterpillar, Moth, Insects, and Currants Gm-00039301

Jan van Kessel II (Flemish, 1626–1679) Luminous red and white currants provide perches for various species of insects, while others crawl and hover over the page. Moths, beetles, wasps, flies, a ladybird, and a caterpillar are set in rows. Jan van Kessel I was one of the first artists to create horizontally arranged drawings of fruits and flowers, giving structure to essentially scientific analyses of insects. Instead of a specific setting, he preferred to use a blank ground, which allowed him to arrange the insects and fruits according to shifting yet interconnected vantage points.

Van Kessel probably made this tight drawing in the studio, based on close sketches from nature. He used bodycolor to show volume, as in the luminous, patterned wings of the moths. Transparent washes represent the light effects, cast from a light source that creates dark shadows along the right sides of wings and underneath the insect's bodies, lifting them from the ground. Van Kessel assembled these insects to emphasize each specimen's crisp shapes and markings.

High Quality Wood Framed Print using museum quality paper and archival inks with a white border or with cut mat for a contemporary look. Comes with Acrylite glazing and hanging hardware. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Stretched Canvas is stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed on heavy cotton poly matte finish canvas. Comes with mounting brackets. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Giclee Prints are printed on 260gsm satin finish using the finest archival inks. Each print carries a white border around the perimeter. The listed size refers to the overall paper dimensions. The image is printed proportionally within this paper size and includes a small white border. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea.