Plate 64: Leopard Slug, Ground Beetle Larva, a Rat-tailed Maggot, and Other Creatures c. 1575 - 1580

Joris Hoefnagel made this watercolor and gouache painting of insects and other small creatures on vellum, sometime before 1600. Hoefnagel was court artist to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, whose interests included collecting specimens of natural history and commissioning artists to record them. Hoefnagel's detailed rendering of the natural world emerged during a period of increasing global exploration and scientific discovery. Yet, it existed within a framework of religious, political, and class structures that profoundly influenced artistic creation. As a court artist, Hoefnagel was very much subject to the whims and fancies of his patron. The detailed rendering of what many people find repulsive raises questions about how we define beauty and worth, reflecting the social hierarchies of the time. Were these careful renderings an attempt to understand the natural world, or more of a demonstration of man's dominion over it? Either way, Hoefnagel invites us to look closely and consider the beauty and complexity that exists even in the smallest corners of our world.