Artwork preview

The Coach-Whip Snake (Coluber flagellum)

Mark Catesby

National Gallery of Art

A long, dark brown snake with a textured pattern is coiled across the central portion of the image, intertwined with a flowering plant featuring bright red and pink blossoms and green leaves. The color palette includes dark brown for the snake, with touches of red and pink from the flowers and leaves in various shades of green. The snake's head is in the upper left corner, while its body curves and loops through the middle to the upper right. The floral plant sits beneath and around the snake, extending upward with some leaves and blossoms visible mostly in the bottom right half of the image.

Artwork Details

Date
published 1731-1743
Medium
etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper
Dimensions
4471 × 3248 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original