butterfly exploring the world of lepidoptera

By: Phaidon
312 pages

An expansive and awe-inspiring visual survey celebrating the stunning beauty of butterflies and moths across art, history, science, and culture

Butterflies have enchanted people for thousands of years, capturing human imagination for so long that they are deeply entwined in our culture and history. Butterfly: Exploring the World of Lepidoptera delves into this enduring love for butterflies, moths, and caterpillars, taking readers on a journey across continents and cultures to discover the endless ways artists and image-makers throughout history, from ancient Egypt over 4,000 years ago to the present day, have been inspired by these ethereal insects.

Featuring more than 250 entries, each represented with a gorgeous large-scale image, this expansive visual survey spans a wide range of styles and media, including paintings, botanical illustrations, sculptures, nature photography, children’s books, textiles, and jewelry.

Cleverly paired to highlight thought-provoking contrasts and similarities between them, regardless of the time period, the images showcase butterflies and moths – from the blue morpho and monarch to the death’s-head hawkmoth – in all stages of their life cycles.

The vibrant colors in Eric Carle’s childhood classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar complement the playfulness of a butterfly-filled collage by British Pop Artist Peter Blake, while the shape of the goddess Obsidian Butterfly, carved into stone in fourteenth-century Mexico, matches perfectly that of a falling moth, captured in a beautiful black and white photograph by Japanese artist Chuji Yasui.

Artists featured include: María Berrio, Peter Blake, Lee Bontecou, Alexander Calder, Caroline Cheng, Rebecca Coles, Salvador Dalí, Mat Collishaw, Jean Dubuffet, M. C. Escher, Gyoshu Hayami, Sheila Hicks, Damien Hirst, Frida Kahlo, René Lalique, Iela Mari, Wardell Milan, Berthe Morisot, Maria van Oosterwijck, Gabriel Orozco, Man Ray, Yinka Shonibare, and Vincent van Gogh, among others