Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542 – 1601) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant.He is noted for his illustrations of natural history subjects, topographical views, illuminations and mythological works.Hoefnagel was one of the last manuscript illuminators and made a major contribution to the development of topographical drawing.His manuscript illuminations and ornamental designs played an important role in the emergence of floral still-life painting as an independent genre in northern Europe at the end of the 16th century.Working before the invention of the microscope and long before etymology was an established field of study, Hoefnagel produced images that are much more than the sum of his empirical observations.He created his manuscripts not for a wide scientific public but instead for himself and his small circle of friends.The almost scientific naturalism of his botanical and animal drawings served as a model for a later generation of Netherlandish artists.Through these nature studies Hoefnagel also contributed to the development of natural history and he was thus a founder of proto-scientific inquiry.More of Joris Hoefnagel’s work can be found at https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.2569.html.