Landscape, Art, and Ecology

The Fluttering Existence of Butterflies in Art History

Butterflies have certainly been depicted in an educational context for analytical or observational purposes in science and art textbooks, guides, articles, etc. Nevertheless, butterflies symbolic introduction dates back to ancient times. The butterflies’ journey in the arts begins in ancient Egypt and Greece thereafter. For the Egyptians, butterflies were a symbolic meaning related to life after death. For the Greek, they were associated with the human soul. This notion fluttered its way into various artworks, where butterflies represented the soul’s journey and the afterlife.¹² During the medieval era, they started appearing in enlightened manuscripts and were often portrayed as symbols of resurrection and spiritual transformation. Fast forward to the Renaissance period where there began a renewed view of the natural world, and butterflies became an admired subject for both artists and scientists. It was during this time that these fascinating creatures were seen as representations of nature’s perfection and the delicate balance of life. At one point, even Leonardo Da Vinci was mesmerized by their anatomy and beauty, and it was evident in his detailed sketches of them. During the Victorian era, butterflies made their way into the realm of fashion and home décor. They seemed to depict of transformation, femininity, and the ephemeral beauty of life. Victorian artists adored their delicate appeal and grace which made them a staple in decorative art. As time progressed, butterflies continued to captivate artists, becoming a representation of change freedom, and fragility.¹³

Maria Van Oosterwyck, a Dutch Golden Age painter, was recognized for her vanitas paintings, which remind viewers of the ephemerality of worldly luxuries and the eternal nature of the soul.¹⁴ This was reflection of a butterfly’s brief lifespan. Oosterwyck was also known for her use of Red Admiral butterflies in her most significant paintings and many observers believe these butterflies were her unique symbol of Christ’s resurrection, and a promise on eternal life. In her paintings, their metamorphosis metaphorically reflected the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In comparison, still-life painters named Adriaen Coorte and Rachel Ruysch were also famed for their impressive depictions of butterflies.

In the 17th century, artists and naturalists around the world set out to feature plants and wildlife of remote lands. Many of these depictions, though apparently scientific, were primarily informed by the artistic tastes and cultural beliefs of the artists. This was demonstrated in their illustration of butterflies where they incorporated hovering around bouquets of flowers and plants. A naturalist illustrator to note during this period is Maria Sibylla Merian who included these creatures in her illustrations of the flora she discovered while traveling in Suriname in 1699.¹⁵ Her illustrations were popularized in Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, a prominent volume of Suriname’s natural landscapes.

In Japan, the butterfly has a rich symbolic history. It appeared in family crests, in origami, on kimono designs, and in ukiyo-e woodblock prints of the Edo era. It symbolized a transition from girlhood to womanhood. In most cases, butterflies were tied to many aspects of female ritual and experience. It became an especially prevalent subject in ukiyo-e woodblock prints made by artists such as Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige and Yanagawa Shiganob, who made detailed images of courtesans and performers in butterfly costumes and attire. 

In late 18th century, artists were considering the consequences of the Industrial Revolution, both on the environment and on existing ways of life. For example, artist Thomas Gainsborough’s painting titled The Painter’s Daughters chasing a Butterfly (1756) illustrates his two young daughters chasing a butterfly that lays on a prickly thistle.¹⁶ The butterfly is an indication of coming dangers, while at the same time acting as metaphor for hope, expressed in the promise of the young girls. In later Impressionist paintings, such as the famous Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, butterflies are seen floating around scenes of middle-class urban leisure, which was enabled by the industrial revolution.

Artists in the modern age also emphasized the inspiring aspects of a butterfly’s existence. A Symbolist artist named Odilon Redon, for example, included butterflies along with shells and flowers as natural objects that stirred a sense of admiration and wonder that art was capable of evoking. Even Vincent Van Gogh devoted an entire series to butterflies. He saw in them the promise of humanity’s abilities to change their lives for the better, and the existence of an optimistic reality ahead. Another profound instance is Frida Kahlo’s Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940) where she is crowned by butterflies.¹⁷ The blue wings rest delicately on her hair almost halo-like. Many have interpreted this as a symbol of Kahlo’s own rebirth following her life-changing accident that had nearly killed her. Butterflies, in this case also suggest the possibility of near resurrection.

Damien Hirst was one of the first famous contemporary artists to employ butterflies within his artwork. In his installation titled In and Out of Love (1991), Hirst invites viewers to bear witness to the evanescent beauty of butterflies’ lives by seeing them evolve from cocoons, live, and die within the course of the exhibition. He describes this as his most conceptual work at the time, creating the entire life cycle of butterflies in the one space and then turning those same butterflies into art in another. This poses a fundamental question about the line between art and life. During an interview in 1991, Hirst explained,

It’s about love and realism, dreams, ideals, symbols, life and death. I worked out many possible trajectories for these things, like the way the real butterfly can destroy the ideal kind of love; the symbol exists apart from the real thing. Or the butterflies still being beautiful even when dead. All these things are completely thrown off balance by a comparison I tried to make between art and life, in the upstairs and downstairs installations, a crazy thing to do when in the end it’s all art.¹⁸

Later, in his work titled I am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds (2006), the artist incorporated nearly 3,000 sets of butterfly wings into a vibrant psychedelic-like image. It is an intricate composition created entirely of actual dead butterfly wings organized in a radiating pattern. Essentially, it is a sublime arrangement incorporating a dual heart and a vortex of forms, expressing beauty and life, yet challenges the horror of what one sees. In other words, it is a remarkable presentation of exquisiteness, but it pulls the viewer into thinking about the terror of its portrayal- death. Hirst often explored the territories of religion, science, and death within his work, and it was apparent in this instance. He even once declared, “I think I have an obsession with death, but I think it’s like a celebration of life rather than something morbid. You can’t have one without the other.”¹⁹

In summary, butterflies have fluttered their way into art throughout history to signify many ideas such as the human spirit, life's ephemerality, natural beauty, grace as well as elegance, transformation, and hope. To a greater extent, a specific butterfly species has now become a cultural symbol of migration, conservation, as well as beliefs and traditions. It is for this reason that I will address the Monarch butterfly in connection to Latino immigrants.