Moth and Three Butterflies

Wenceslaus Hollar

National Gallery of Art

Printed with black lines and hatching on cream-white paper, a moth’s spread wings nearly span the width of this horizontal etching over three smaller butterflies. All four insects are captured as specimens from above. The moth has a thick body, arm-like protrusions under flaring antennae, and a conical, tapering abdomen. The butterfly to the lower left has a slender body and gently stripped wings. To the right, a butterfly has black marks one dark wings. In the center, the smaller insect has four visible legs and thin, dark wings dotted with white. Text etched to either side of the moth reads “W. Hollar fecit 1646” to the left and “ex Collectione Arundeliana” to the right.