Jan van Kessel the Elder, “Study of Insects and Reptiles [center],” c. 1660
Back in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, animals conjured a remarkable sense of wonder. It was an era of unprecedented exploration, where scientific technology, trade, and colonial expansion led to the study of previously unknown or overlooked species. Integral to cataloging these beestjes, or “little beasts,” were artists. An upcoming exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., will trace how such artists captured the natural world and, in so doing, spread critical knowledge about creatures big and small.
Opening on May 18, Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World presents a holistic glimpse into the burgeoning science of natural history. The exhibition encompasses nearly 75 prints, drawings, and paintings from the National Gallery, alongside 60 objects from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). Notably, Little Beasts serves as a landmark collaboration between the two institutions, pairing the gallery’s art collection with NMNH specimens and taxidermy for the first time. The result is an intriguing and interdisciplinary conversation, emphasizing how animals were translated into representational art.
“Through their work, artists have always helped us make sense of the world,” Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art, explains. “Little Beasts gives us the chance to examine how the curiosity of artists helped to advance discovery in the study of the natural world.”
This curiosity manifests itself in the exhibition’s impressive range of featured animals and artistic media. One section, for instance, juxtaposes engravings made after Joris Hoefnagel’s designs with loans from NMNH, allowing visitors to actively compare these detailed prints with related natural history specimens, whether they be an elephant beetle, hummingbird hawk-moths, or mantis shrimp. Another section provides a similar experience, where Jan van Kessel’s celebrated paintings appear alongside seashells, insects, a parrot, peacock, porcupine, and macaque in order to “showcase his tremendous skill at rendering creatures of all kinds,” per the National Gallery.
To enhance its immersive quality, Little Beasts includes digital displays with which to zoom in on small works and learn more about their history. Magnifying glasses modeled after the lenses that Renaissance artists and naturalists would have used will also be available to examine the exhibition’s specimens and art.
“Even today, researchers at [NMNH] depend on scientific illustrators to bring clarity and understanding to the specimens they study,” Kirk Johnson, NMNH’s Sant Director, says. Through Little Beasts, Johnson adds, the National Gallery and NMNH will “bring a new perspective to an era when artistic expression went hand in hand with scientific exploration.”
Little Beasts will be on-view at the National Gallery from May 18 through November 2, 2025. To learn more about the exhibition, visit the National Gallery website.
In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) have paired up to explore the intersections between natural history and art.
Wenceslaus Hollar, “Two Butterflies, a Wasp, and a Moth,” 1646
Circle of Jan van Kessel the Elder, “Study of Birds and Monkey,” 1660/1670
Jacopo Ligozzi, “A Groundhog or Marmot with a Branch of Plums,” 1605
Teodoro Filippo di Liagno, “Skeleton of a Quadruped,” 1620–21
Jan van Kessel the Elder, “Insects and a Sprig of Rosemary,” 1653
The resulting exhibition, Little Beasts, will showcase artwork from the National Gallery and specimens from NMNH, offering a holistic glimpse into the burgeoning science of natural history through art.
Jacob Hoefnagel, after Joris Hoefnagel, “Archetype studiaque patris Georgii Hoefnagelii [Part 1, Plate 5],” 1592
Megasoma elaphus (elephant beetle)
Jan van Kessel the Elder, “Artist’s Name in Insects and Reptiles [bottom center],” 1658
Jan van Kessel the Elder, “Insects [bottom right corner],” 1658
Little Beasts will open at the National Gallery on May 18 and be on view through November 2, 2025.
Marmota monax (marmot/woodchuck)
