Associated with the fire of the underworld, painted into life by Jupiter, attracted by Psyche, hunted on expeditions, in vanitas paintings, or just for their beauty.
Pisanello
Once popular in wall paintings and miniatures across Europe, these legends were revived in the nineteenth century and adopted by the Pre-Raphaelites.
From Pisanello and Dosso Dossi to William Holman Hunt and Richard Dadd: paintings showing butterflies.
The Eclectic Light Company 