Title Page from Diversae Insectorum...Figurae

A prolific and multitalented artist, Wenceslaus Hollar produced almost 3,000 etchings over the course of some 50 years, with subjects ranging from fashion and portraiture to architecture and landscape. This etching is the title page to a set of six scientific renderings of insects and other small creatures. Remarkable for their virtuosity and detail, the technical presentation of these works is most likely attributed to the invention of the microscope at the end of the 16th century.