Laughing Bumblebee Orchid (Ophrys bombyliflora) and anemonen (Anemone) | Laughing Bumblebee Orchid (Ophrys bombyliflora), Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt, 1596 - 1610
brush, h 245mm × w 166mm More details
The Historia Naturalis aimed to give a reliable ‘scientific’ image for each subject. However, you might well wonder about this image. At first glance, green heads of birds or ducks – hidden behind coats of arms – seem to hang from a stem. Yet here, too, the artist followed reality fairly closely. We are again witnessing one of Nature’s little jokes.
