Description Unidentified gentleman known on the negative envelope simply as "Cobweb Painter." Cobweb painting utilizes spider web or caterpillar silk and was first documented in the 16th Century. It is not a common practice and takes skill and extreme patience from beginning to end. Here we can see the gentleman now seated in the living room of his home. He is proudly showing his completed work which is a river scene with a fisherman standing in the water.