Small Motifs of Insects and Plants

Small Motifs of Insects and Plants

Georg Herman

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This small print shows a somewhat random collection of various insects, plants, a snail and a turtle. Motifs like these could be used individually as (engraved) decoration on all kinds of objects. The print is part of a series of eight done by Georg Herman. Georg was the son of Stephan Herman, a goldsmith, printmaker and publisher working in Ansbach between 1568 and 1596. Because he signed most of his prints, we know that he made most of them between the ages of 15 and 24. The current series dates from 1596 when the artist was 16 years of age. Although he is thought to have been active as a goldsmith, other than his prints no pieces by his hand are known to have survived.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Small Motifs of Insects and PlantsSmall Motifs of Insects and PlantsSmall Motifs of Insects and PlantsSmall Motifs of Insects and PlantsSmall Motifs of Insects and Plants

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.