Many artists have been inspired by butterflies. In the butterfly house in Mainau in southern Germany for example these butterflies made of metal by Peter Haizmann have been exhibited.

The photographer Anne Geddes dealt with children disguised as butterflies in several of her photos. She published them in her book "Down in the Garden".

The painting "Sonntagsspaziergang" (walk on Sunday) by the German painter Max Spitzweg (1808-1885) shows people going for a walk and a boy trying to catch a butterfly.

Salvador Dalí (*1904) painted a "butterfly queen" in 1951. The butterfly-like queen wears a colorful dress faced with butterflies. Her crown and scepter are butterflies as well.

The painting "33 young girls hunting a white butterfly" was made by Max Ernst.
He also painted a "Schmetterlingssammlung" (collection of butterflies) in 1930/31 showing different butterflies on a light yellow background.

In music the topic "butterflies" can be found as well.

Listening to the sounds of "Deux Papillons" (Two Butterflies, op. 165) by Emil Kronke (1865-1938), played by two flutes and piano, you feel the lightness and liveliness of butterflies fluttering around.

Ernesto Köhler (1849-1907) also entitled one of his compositions for flute and piano "Papillon" (op. 30).

Another composition for piano entitled "Papillons" (butterflies) was composed by the German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) in 1829 and in 1831.

However, butterflies don’t only appear in classical music.

Looking at the CDs in a shop you can see Mariah Carey’s album "butterfly".

Even in the titles of operas butterflies are mentioned, for example in Giacomo Puccini’s (1858-1924) tragedy "Madame Butterfly". It deals with the Japanese Geisha Cho-Cho-San, called Butterfly. She loves the American ensign Pinkerton and marries him. She even becomes a Christian for him. But Pinkerton doesn’t take the wedding seriously and returns to America, leaving Butterfly with a son. He marries an American and, after a long time, he comes back to take his son to America. Having waited for him for years and not knowing the real reason for his return to Japan, Butterfly happily welcomes him. When recognizing his intention, she agrees to give her son to him but commits suicide.