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Study of Butterfly and Insects
Jan van Kessel the Elder·c. 1655
Historical Context
Jan van Kessel the Elder's Study of Butterfly and Insects from around 1655 exemplifies the meticulous natural history painting that was his specialty. Van Kessel inherited the tradition of precise natural observation from his grandfather Jan Brueghel the Elder and brought it to a new level of scientific accuracy. Such studies of insects were both aesthetic objects and contributions to the growing culture of empirical natural history in the 17th-century Netherlands.
Technical Analysis
Van Kessel's oil-on-copper technique achieves remarkable precision in rendering the delicate wing patterns and iridescent colors of the insects. The smooth copper surface allows for miniaturist detail while the neutral background isolates each specimen with scientific clarity.
Provenance
Comte de Joigny, France. (Brian Koetser Gallery, London), in 1966.[1] John Dimick, Chevy Chase, Maryland; gift 1983 to NGA. [1] According to the catalogue of the 1966 exhibition at the Brian Koetser Gallery, the painting came from the collection of the "Count of Joigny, France." A label taken from the back of the painting (in NGA curatorial files) is from the autumn exhibition presented by Leonard Koetser Ltd., but no year is indicated. Both Koetser galleries held annual autumn exhibitions that frequently featured Dutch and Flemish paintings.
