![]() Beneath it is a piece of paper with a handwritten quote from the Old Testament's Book of Job: "Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble" – a passage that goes on to say, "He springs up like a flower and withers away like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure." It sounds bleak, but it is intended to liberate us from our addiction to luxuries. But it also communicates an ethical message, one that is highly relevant in the modern age. The red admiral ( Vanessa atalanta) on the book at the centre of the painting is again a symbol of the human soul. Her technical abilities – particularly in representing different species of butterfly – is exemplified in Vanitas Still Life (1668). One of the greatest painters of still life in the Dutch Republic was Maria van Oosterwijck. In European visual culture, they continued to represent the human soul for centuries – and the significance became deeper and more complex in the Renaissance and Baroque periods (1450-1700). It is also fundamentally hopeful, betokening regeneration.īut in art history, butterflies have also been warning symbols. This is why the butterfly could be a climate-change icon: it is an international symbol of the purer part of the human character, connected with nature and at the opposite pole to our materialism self-interest. Later, in Christian art, butterflies symbolised the resurrection of Jesus, as they seemed to be a rebirth of the caterpillar's hitherto hidden spirit. ![]() In Greek myth, Psyche, the goddess of the soul, is often depicted with a butterfly. It stemmed from the belief that caterpillars' cocoons were like tombs, and the butterfly emerging was like the "anima" (soul) fluttering free from the prison of the corpse after death. Aristotle (the tutor of Alexander the Great) made the first recorded instance of the word "psyche", meaning the human spirit or soul in reference to a butterfly, in his treatise The History of Animals (c 350 BC). It flips our established sense of being by placing the greater truth of nature in contrast to our insubstantial, flittering consciousnesses.Īt around the same time, but 5,000 miles to the west, a strikingly similar notion had occurred in ancient Greek thinking. It reminds us of our subservient place within nature. The tale of Zhuang Zhou's butterfly clearly dissolves the artificial barrier between humanity and nature. Such principles feel remote in the present age. It focuses on following the "path" or "way" of nature, respecting and adapting to it in order to lead a life of harmony. The point of this story is to emphasise the instability of our mental constructs, especially our ego and our perception of reality. But he didn't know if he was Zhuang Zhou who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuang Zhou. Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering about, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. It became a key inspiration for later Chinese and Japanese artists who represented butterflies: Written in China in around 300 BC, Zhuang Zhou Dreams of Being a Butterfly is one of the most famous stories connected with the religion and philosophy of Daoism. Butterflies and their adjusted migration patterns have become one of the warning signals of the climate crisis.īut butterflies have also been symbols of ourselves: more precisely, our inner, spiritual selves. The mountain ringlet ( Erebia epiphron) currently inhabits the north of England but is due to disappear completely as its environment warms year on year. The long-tailed blue ( Lampides boeticus), for example, was never a native to the UK, but rising temperatures have driven them upwards from their usual European habitats. ![]() Meanwhile, many butterfly species across the world are migrating northwards to find cooler climes. According to Michigan State University, populations of monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus) are in decline in North America because of alterations in spring temperatures. Rainbows as signs of hope and solidarityīutterflies are one of many exquisite creatures to be threatened by man-made climate change. If the climate crisis is searching for a symbol, one option is the butterfly, an insect that is not only hypersensitive to the ecosystem, but steeped with meaning in the history of art. They bestow a visual identity on to a set of ideals. These icons play a key role in unifying the actions of people from disparate backgrounds and nationalities. Picasso's dove is forever synonymous with the World Peace Council, and the rainbow flag inseparable from LGBTQ pride. Great movements for change need powerful symbols.
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