J.-R. LE BLAN (active in France and Flanders between 1716 and 1747) THISTLE, BUTTERFLIES AND HUMMINGBIRD WITH A LATICAUDA Panel Signed and dated lower right "J.R. Le Blan 1716". Numbered on the reverse in black ink "n° 21". Old restorations Thistle, buterflies and hummingbird with a laticauda, panel, signed and dated, old restorations 44 x 38 CM - 17,3 x 15 IN. The Laticauda is a warm-water marine snake. The butterfly species represented are European: peacock, pearly, moiré, Vulcan and changeable March. J.-R. le Blan is a rare artist, active in France in the years 1716-1720, whose works are few and far between. He was undoubtedly influenced by the 17th-century Dutch painter Otto Marseus van Schriek, who specialised in compositions of plants, insects and amphibians, giving his paintings the illusion of the mysterious life of the forest.