Llama and Moose (1575-1590)

Joris Hoefnagel prints bring the natural world of the late 1500s to your walls at the scale of a fingernail. A Flemish artist who worked for the Duke of Bavaria and Emperor Rudolf II, Hoefnagel painted beetles, butterflies, fish, flowers and strange beasts on vellum with astonishing care. Our collection of fine art prints includes plates from his Four Elements, his calligraphy book pages and the Archetypa engravings.

About Joris Hoefnagel

Joris Hoefnagel was born in Antwerp in 1542, the son of a merchant family in the luxury-goods trade. He travelled widely as a young man, through France and Spain and later Italy, and his travel drawings of towns found a large audience in the Civitates orbis terrarum, the great town atlas published by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg.

He became a court artist, first to the Duke of Bavaria in Munich and later to Emperor Rudolf II, working in Frankfurt, Vienna and Prague. For Rudolf he added flowers, fruit and insects to the Mira calligraphiae monumenta, a book of scripts written by Georg Bocskay in 1561–62, which Hoefnagel illuminated in 1591–96.

In 1592 his son Jacob published 48 engravings after his studies as the Archetypa studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii in Frankfurt. Joris died in 1600 or 1601, probably in Vienna; sources differ on the date.

Style and Subjects

Hoefnagel painted so closely that you can count the legs on a fly. His great project, the Four Elements, fills four small manuscript volumes with some 300 miniatures of insects, sea creatures, animals and birds, each set in a gold oval or frame with Latin inscriptions. The colours are clear and jewel-like against pale vellum.

His work sits where art meets early science. Real species, often carefully observed, share the pages with fable and wonder: a horned hare, a nine-legged octopus, and portraits of the hairy González family shown among the marvels of nature. His calligraphy pages mix fruit, flowers, snails and butterflies with elegant lettering.

Famous Works

• Pedro González and His Wife, Catherine (Four Elements, Ignis, plate 1) (1575–1590), National Gallery of Art, Washington. Pedro González, born with hair covering his face and body, stands with his wife in noble dress, framed in gold.
• A Walrus, a Nine-Legged Octopus and Ocean Sunfish (Aqua, plate 3) (1575–1590), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A walrus at a time when few Europeans had seen one, beside fanciful sea life.
• A Hare (Jackalope), a Rabbit and a Spotted Squirrel (1575–1590), National Gallery of Art, Washington. Fact and fable side by side, including a horned hare that never existed.
• Plate 73: Ten Insects (1575–1590), National Gallery of Art, Washington. A page of beetles, flies and bugs painted at life size.
• Poppy Anemones, Caterpillar, Fig and Quince (Mira calligraphiae monumenta) (1591–1596), J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Fruit and flowers painted around the script of Georg Bocskay.
• Still Life with Flowers, a Snail and Insects. A vase of flowers attended by a snail and insects.
• Archetypa studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii, Pl. 07 (1592). An engraving from the set his son Jacob published after his studies.

Decorating with Hoefnagel Prints

Hoefnagel's miniatures reward close looking, so hang them where people stand near them: a hallway, a reading corner, a bathroom wall or beside a desk. His insect and butterfly plates look lovely in a grid of four, six or nine in thin gold or black frames, like a cabinet of curiosities.

The sea creature plates suit a bathroom or a coastal home, while the fruit and flower pages from the calligraphy book bring soft colour to a kitchen, a dining room or a bedroom. Wide pale mounts echo the vellum pages of the originals.

FAQ

Who was Joris Hoefnagel?

Joris Hoefnagel (1542–1601) was a Flemish painter, illuminator and draughtsman from Antwerp. He worked for the Duke of Bavaria and Emperor Rudolf II and is known for his miniatures of insects, animals and plants.

What are the Four Elements?

The Four Elements are four small manuscript volumes, made from about 1575 to the 1590s, holding some 300 miniatures of insects, sea creatures, animals and birds. All four volumes are at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Where can I see Joris Hoefnagel's original work?

The National Gallery of Art in Washington holds the Four Elements, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles holds the Mira calligraphiae monumenta.

What makes Hoefnagel's style recognizable?

Tiny, precise painting on vellum, clear jewel-like colours, gold frames and Latin inscriptions, and a mix of real natural history with wonders and fables.

What is the Archetypa?

The Archetypa studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii is a set of 48 engravings after Joris's studies, published by his son Jacob in Frankfurt in 1592.

Related Artists

• Jacob Hoefnagel: his son, who published the Archetypa engravings
• Georg Flegel: early German still-life painter of fruit and insects
• Jacopo Ligozzi: Italian court painter of plants and animals in the same years
• Maria Sibylla Merian: later painter of insects and plants
• Albrecht Dürer: earlier master of close nature studies