Studies of a Blue Beetle and Insects
Attributed to Pieter Holsteyn II Dutch
Former Attribution Anonymous, Dutch, 17th century Dutch
Formerly attributed to Rochus van Veen Dutch
Not on view
The advent of the microscope in the early seventeenth century revolutionized the manner in which people saw insects. In about 1600, ants, bees, and butterflies garnered most scholarly attention, owing to their significance in biblical and classical sources. By the eighteenth century, the range of insects that were subjects of study had expanded in tandem with a new interest in understanding insects’ anatomies. The two smaller, less familiar insects depicted in this drawing operate as a framing device for the large blue beetle at its center.
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