Collection: Joris Hoefnagel Prints

Joris Hoefnagel prints: Renaissance insects and flowers

Four hundred years before macro photography, Joris Hoefnagel (1542–1601) was painting insects at a scale that lets you count the segments of a leg. Working for the Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, he filled manuscripts with insects, flowers, fruit and small animals arranged on bare vellum, each one isolated and studied like a specimen: a cabinet of curiosities on the page.

Insects, fruit and flowers on the page

Hoefnagel added his small paintings to the pages of a famous calligraphy model book, the Mira calligraphiae monumenta. A Dragonfly, Pear and Carnation float beside the letters, a Butterfly, Snakeshead, Walnut and Cherry share a page, and a Fly, Caterpillar, Pear and Centipede look ready to crawl off the paper.

Tulips, irises and scorpions

Tulips were newly arrived in Europe, and Hoefnagel painted them with care: Tulip and Scorpion, Tulips, Insect and Worm or Gesner’s Tulip with an Ichneumon Fly and Beans. Irises appear in Damselflies, Spanish Iris and Star-of-Bethlehem.

The Four Elements: Hoefnagel’s animals

In his series on the Four Elements, Hoefnagel painted the animals of earth, water, air and fire, including exotic creatures like this sloth, a rare early European image of this animal.

Hanging Hoefnagel prints

A single insect centred on cream paper looks like graphic design, not a historical document, and a grid of four or six framed together is one of the most striking things you can put on a plain wall. Our set of three Hoefnagel posters is an easy way to start.

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