When we leaf through the pages of Erucarum Ortus—translated as The Origin of Caterpillars, Worms, and Flies—we glimpse a world caught between art and science, beauty and inquiry. Published in Latin in 1717, long after its author’s death, the work is one of the first systematic attempts to document the life cycles of insects. Its engravings, drawn from life by Dutch painter and naturalist Johannes Goedaert (1617–1668), remind us of the wonder that comes from watching closely, patiently, and faithfully recording what nature reveals.
A Groundbreaking Work
Before Goedaert, insects were often treated as curiosities—mysterious, bothersome, even demonic. Natural histories typically relied on hearsay or speculation. But Goedaert took another path: he observed. In his modest garden in Middelburg, he raised caterpillars, kept pupae, and recorded their metamorphoses into butterflies, moths, flies, and beetles. Each insect was drawn alongside its host plant, offering not just an isolated specimen, but an ecological relationship.
Erucarum Ortus was revolutionary in three ways:
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Empirical Observation – Goedaert watched nature unfold rather than repeating secondhand accounts.
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Artistic Precision – His engravings united botanical and entomological detail with an artist’s eye.
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Public Accessibility – Though a painter by trade and not a scholar, his work was published and circulated, reaching an audience beyond the universities.
His book stands at the dawn of modern entomology, bridging the gap between medieval wonder and Enlightenment science.
Biography of Johannes Goedaert (1617–1668)
Johannes Goedaert was born in Middelburg, a bustling Dutch port city and a center of art and trade. Trained as a painter, he supported himself by producing works for patrons, but his passion lay in the miniature dramas of the natural world. With no formal scientific training and lacking instruments like the microscope, Goedaert turned to simple yet rigorous methods: he bred insects, observed them daily, and kept careful notes.
From 1660 until after his death in 1668, his notes and illustrations were published in Dutch, and later Latin, as Metamorphosis Naturalis and Erucarum Ortus. Though his work was sometimes criticized for lacking the exacting taxonomy of later science, his contribution was profound: he showed that ordinary men and women, with patience and dedication, could contribute to natural knowledge.
Goedaert’s influence was far-reaching. His work inspired Maria Sibylla Merian, whose own studies of metamorphosis would take her to Suriname. Together, these artists-naturalists helped transform Europe’s view of insects from pests and portents to creatures worthy of study and admiration.
Goedaert’s Legacy
Today, Goedaert’s engravings are treasured not only for their scientific importance but for their artistry. Each plate captures a harmony between plant and insect, a reminder that life is interconnected and cyclical. They are time capsules from an age when natural history was both art and devotion.
For collectors and admirers of botanical and entomological art, Erucarum Ortus offers more than historical interest—it offers perspective. It shows us how much can be discovered by attending to the small and overlooked, and how beauty and truth often grow together.
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