Episode 24

Butterflies in Art – The Eternal Dance of Beauty and Meaning

Some creatures exist only in nature. Others take flight across canvases, scrolls, and sculptures—forever captured by the artist’s hand.

The butterfly is both.

From ancient mosaics in Pompeii to the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, from Japanese woodblock prints to surrealist dreams, butterflies have fluttered through centuries of art—symbols of the soul, impermanence, beauty, and rebirth.


What draws the artist to this delicate creature?

How do wings become brushstrokes?

And what do these painted butterflies reveal about the way we see life, death, and everything in between?


Join Adrian Adair, The King of Butterflies, as we explore the story of butterflies in art history—an eternal dance between nature and imagination.

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About the Podcast

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Gleam Of Butterflies
A poetic journey into the mystery, beauty, and transformation of butterflies. Hosted by Adrian Adair

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About your host

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Adrian Adair

There are those who simply admire butterflies—and then there are those who seem to move with them, understanding their silent language, following their unseen paths.

Adrian Adair is one of the latter.

The creator and voice behind Gleam of Butterflies, Adrian doesn’t just study butterflies—he listens to them. He traces their flight through myth and time, unearthing the stories they carry on their wings. With each episode, he takes listeners on a journey through forgotten legends, poetic symbolism, and the quiet miracles of nature.

His voice is both a guide and a whisper—leading through the gilded shimmer of the Blue Morpho, the spectral mystery of the Black Swallowtail, the eternal migration of the Monarch. He speaks of butterflies as spirits, as omens, as echoes of transformation, revealing what cultures across history have always known: these creatures are more than delicate wings. They are messages, waiting to be understood.

Some people chase butterflies. Adrian walks among them.

Follow the flight, and step into the wonder.