2016.24
Studies of Butterflies, Moths, Flies, a Beetle and a Slowworm
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
obverse