The Glass Snake (Anguis ventralis)
published 1731-1743
Medium
etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 25 × 34.5 cm (9 13/16 × 13 9/16 in.) sheet: 35.4 × 52.4 cm (13 15/16 × 20 5/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green
Accession Number
1973.26.22
About the Artist
Mark Catesby
Mark Catesby (1683–1749), an pioneering English naturalist and artist, was born on 24 March 1683 in Castle Hedingham, Essex, and baptized there a week later. His early life remains sparsely documented, with no records of formal education, artistic training, teachers, or mentors, though he was likely influenced by his uncle Nicholas Jekyll, a local naturalist with an intriguing garden and connectio...