Vladimir Nabokov’s Scientific Butterfly Illustrations

Color Plate 43, Nabokov’s rendering of Japanese Blues, with rendering (at upper right)
of cleobis Bremer 1861, for comparative purposes (© Vladimir Nabokov,
courtesy of the Vladimir Nabokov Archive at the Berg Collection,
New York Public Library, used by permission of the Wylie Agency LLC)

"Does a deeper understanding of Nabokov’s butterfly research better illuminate the role of the creatures as mysterious apparitions in his writing? Maybe not, but it does emphasizes his work as more than just an eccentricity. Like one of those rare gynandromorphic butterflies that’s male on one side and female on the other, Fine Lines argues for more balance between science and art in considering Nabokov’s legacy."

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