{"id":7210,"date":"2025-09-10T11:45:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T11:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/7210\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T11:45:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T11:45:09","slug":"butterfly-explores-4000-years-of-our-fascination-with-lepidoptera-in-art-and-science-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/7210\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Butterfly’ Explores 4,000 Years of Our Fascination with Lepidoptera in Art and Science \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since time immemorial, we have been awed by the ornate patterns, metamorphosis, and migrations of butterflies and moths. Their uncanny life stages and spectrum of vibrant colors and textures\u2014both as caterpillars and as adult insects\u2014endlessly inspire wonder.<\/p>\n

Butterfly: Exploring the World of Lepidoptera, a new book forthcoming from Phaidon on October 1, celebrates these distinctive winged creatures throughout art history and science. From portrayals in 4,000-year-old Egyptian artworks to pioneering entomological studies during the Enlightenment to contemporary explorations, the volume surveys our enduring fascination with the insects.<\/p>\n

\"aJohn Abbot, \u201cBlack and Blue Admirable Butterfly and Chestnut-coloured Butterfly\u201d (c.1774\u20131841), etching from watercolor, 15 3\/8 x 11 3\/4 inches. Image courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden, Peter H. Raven Library<\/p>\n

So far, scientists have documented about 20,000 species<\/a> of butterflies in the world, but there are likely more. And in the order of Lepidoptera, which includes moths, estimates of the total number of species range from a staggering 180,000 to 265,000. The largest is known as Queen Alexandra\u2019s Birdwing, with a wingspan that can reach up to one foot. And when it comes to moths, a similarly sized wingspan can be found on a Southeast Asian species known as the Atlas Moth.<\/p>\n

Artists have long captured the likeness of butterflies in a range of media as a way to symbolically represent transformation, rebirth, beauty, and purity. More than 250 entries fill Butterfly, including sculptures, photography, paintings, illustrations, textiles, and more, which tap into the myriad ways in which these marvelous bugs pollinate not only our fragile ecosystems but our imaginations, too.<\/p>\n

Pre-order your copy now in the Colossal Shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"anRalph Martin, \u201cOld World Swallowtail Wing\u201d (2018), photograph, dimensions variable. Image courtesy of Ralph Martin \/ BIA \/ Nature Picture Library<\/p>\n

\"aRebecca Coles, \u201cBritish Masters 01\u201d (2017), recycled art books and entomology pins, 39 3\/8 x 39 3\/8 inches. Image courtesy of TAG Fine Arts<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

\"anAnonymous, Atlas Moth (c.1615), gouache on paper, 7 x 4 3\/4 inches. Image courtesy of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam<\/p>\n

\"aWardell Milan, \u201cSunday, Sitting on the Bank of Butterfly Meadow\u201d (2013), chromogenic print, 39 7\/8 x 60 inches. Image \u00a9 Wardell Milan, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco and Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, New York<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

\"aKatsushika Hokusai, \u201cPeonies and Butterfly\u201d (1833\u20134), woodcut print, ink, and color on paper, 10 \u00d7 14 5\/8 inches. Image courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art<\/p>\n

\"aCat Johnston, \u201cMoth Creature\u201d (2024), cloth, fur, paint, and epoxy clay Image \u00a9 Cat Johnston<\/p>\n

\"abstractMartin Frobenius Lederm\u00fcller, \u201cButterfly Wing Scales\u201d (c.1764), watercolor and ink on paper, 10 x 8 inches. Image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library; Smithsonian Libraries and Archives<\/p>\n

\"the<\/p>\n

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Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since time immemorial, we have been awed by the ornate patterns, metamorphosis, and migrations of butterflies and moths.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[2594,8335,701,412,8336,146,85,8337,46,8338],"class_list":{"0":"post-7210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-art-history","10":"tag-biology","11":"tag-books","12":"tag-butterflies","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-il","15":"tag-insects","16":"tag-israel","17":"tag-moths"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}