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Preview image of work. black chalk, pen and black ink, watercolor and bodycolor on paper,  Studies of Butterflies, Moths, Flies, a Beetle and a Slowworm 30399

2016.24

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Studies of Butterflies, Moths, Flies, a Beetle and a Slowworm

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Artist

Pieter Withoos (Amersfoort, Netherlands, 1654 - 1693, Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Title

Studies of Butterflies, Moths, Flies, a Beetle and a Slowworm

Creation Date

ca.1675-1692

Century

late 17th century

Dimensions

9 7/16 x 14 in. (24 x 36 cm)

Object Type

drawing

Creation Place

Europe, Netherlands

Medium and Support

black chalk, pen and black ink, watercolor and bodycolor on paper

Credit Line

Museum Purchase with Funds Contributed by George and Elaine Keyes

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2016.24

Pieter Withoos was born in Amersfoort as the second son of Dutch painter Matthias Withoos (1627--1703). Closely following the footsteps of his father, Pieter painted album sheets with a wide variety of plants, flowers, and insects. His work might derive from mounted insect specimens and can be seen as a precursor to scientific illustration; however, his decorative placement of the compellingly rendered, lifelike insects makes a statement as much about his artistic facility as about the rewards of looking at nature close up. Withoos’s drawings were actively commissioned and collected, and it is possible that this one was made for Agneta Block (1629--1704), a Dutch horticulturalist and art collector who cultivated exotic plants in her country home, Vijverhof, located several miles southeast of Amsterdam. Along with several other artists, Withoos was commissioned to record her rare specimens in watercolor.

Additional Media

Additional Image obverse
obverse