Wall Art
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Elephant with Insects by Joris Hoefnagel – art print in a frame
Detail of Elephant with Insects by Joris Hoefnagel
Elephant with Insects by Joris Hoefnagel – art print in a frame
Detail of Elephant with Insects by Joris Hoefnagel

Elephant with Insects by Joris Hoefnagel

Size

Sizes are in inches.

$29.00

An elephant stands in profile on a small patch of grassy ground inside a thin gold oval, its trunk curling down and two pale tusks pointing forward. Its gray-brown skin is drawn with fine cross-hatched lines, and three small winged insects fly around its head. Above the oval, red capital letters spell ELEPHANTVS INDICVS NON CVRAT CVLICES, on a plain cream page.

Joris Hoefnagel (Flemish, 1542–1600) painted this sheet in watercolor and gold paint on parchment, dated c. 1575/1590s. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, which holds it, titles it Plate 1: Elephant with Insects, and translates the Latin motto as "The Indian elephant is scarcely troubled by gnats."

Lab-printed to order on luster photo paper, in a 4:5 format: 8×10, 16×20, 24×30 and 40×50 inches. Its gentle colors and wide oval suit a nursery, a study or a hallway.