A Poppy in Three Stages of Flowering, with a Caterpillar, Pupa and Butterfly 1668 - 1723

Here we see Johanna Helena Herolt’s delicate rendering of 'A Poppy in Three Stages of Flowering, with a Caterpillar, Pupa and Butterfly', created with watercolor and gouache on vellum. The composition, seemingly straightforward, contains an artful arrangement of botanical and entomological subjects against a stark white ground. The poppy, in its various stages, spirals upward, creating a sinuous visual pathway that guides the eye from the caterpillar at the base to the butterfly perched atop the nascent bud. Herolt's meticulous brushwork captures the textural contrasts between the velvety petals, the smooth seed pod, and the insects’ segmented bodies. The color palette is subdued yet precise, with pinks and greens predominating. The stark white background emphasizes the forms and throws into relief the scientific exactitude of the depiction, characteristic of the period's naturalistic studies. The cyclical nature of the life cycle, rendered in exquisite detail, invites us to contemplate the transient and evolving forms of life itself. The painting becomes more than just a botanical study. It's a meditation on growth, transformation, and the interconnectedness of natural processes, captured through a formal language of observation and representation.