I wanted an image of a particular event, and couldn’t find a good one but having arrived at the National Gallery of Art in DC (pixelated version) I saw that they have an exhibition entitled, Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World. The picture illustrating the (online) brochure is lovely.

Study of Butterfly and Insects by Jan van Kessel, the Elder. 1655. Oil on copper.

Oops! Sorry it’s this one…

Insects and a Sprig of Rosemary by Jan van Kessel, the Elder. 1653. Oil on copper.

I didn’t look very far into the exhibition but there are also lots of pictures from four sketch books done by Joris Hoefnagel, a Flemish artist in the late 1500’s. This link will take you to an interactive discussion of some of his paintings. Be careful. I got a little seasick with the way the scrolling worked. https://www.nga.gov/stories/articles/marvelous-details-joris-hoefnagels-animal-and-insect-studies

Plate 51: Murex Mollusks, Shells, Hermit Crabs, a Slug, Insects, and Other Sea Life

Plate 74. Insects with White Daffodil. Watercolor with Gold Paint on Parchment. Part of a set of four notebooks, chronicling the natural world.

The header is Still Life with Flowers Surrounded by Insects and a Snail. c. 1610 by Clara Peeters Painter, Flemish, c. 1594 – c. 1640