Butterfly

Size: 30,3 x 22,6 cm

Materials: Watercolour on watercolour paper

Symbol ninety-two is an Aztec Butterfly from Teotihuacan. The Aztec studied the insects and had a good grasp of their lifecycle. The Butterfly has been associated with the Goddess Itzpapalotl. She was a strong and ferocious goddess with butterfly wings and big claws on her hands and feet. She could appear in many different shapes, including a seductive woman, and a skeletal being with wings tipped with obsidian knives. She ruled the paradise of Tamoanchan, where victims of infant mortality resided and humans were created. The butterfly was one of the most frequently represented animals in Aztec art and represented transformation, as they still do in modern many cultures. The background was created by flicking paint in different directions both on wet and dry paper.