The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Studies of Insects
c. 1665–1727
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
With an extremely fine brush, the artist used a magnifying glass to draw the minute details of these insects, using watercolor and opaque watercolor, and gum arabic to create sheen.Description
In the 17th century, an interest in flora and fauna, both local and exotic, in the Netherlands led to vast collections of insects, plants, and animals among academics and amateurs. Artists such as Johannes Bronckhorst became specialists at recording these collections in paint, to be kept in portfolios and shown to visitors. The grouping of insects on this sheet suggest that Bronckhorst had access to a varied collection, and include a cicada, a cereal-leaf beetle, a harlequin ladybird, a spiny orb-weaver spider, two Asian longhorn beetles, a red rhinoceros beetle, a rosemary beetle, and a stick insect. With great attention to detail, Bronckhorst may have selected this particular assembly with no other intent than to create a balanced and colorful composition.- Collection I.Q. van Regteren Altena (1899-1980), The Netherlands, by descentPrivate collection, The NetherlandsDecember 10, 2014(Christie’s, Amsterdam, Netherlands)2014-2022(Mireille Mosler, Ltd., New York, NY)March 7, 2022-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Christie's Amsterdam B.V. The I.Q. Van Regteren Altena Collection, Part II: Dutch and Flemish Drawings from 1500-1900. Amsterdam: Christie's, 2014. Lot 268
- {{cite web|title=Studies of Insects|url=false|author=Johannes Bronckhorst|year=c. 1665–1727|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.9