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Illustrations from the Biodiversity Heritage Library’s book of the week:- Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri accurata descriptio, et iconibus artificiosissimis expressio, per universam physices historiam : Opus, cui, in hoc rerum genere, nullum par exstitit , an 18th century catalog of the natural history collections of the Dutch apothecary Albertus Seba.
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Painting by Eric Carlson
The University of Montana Philip L. Wright Zoological MuseumCongratulations to
skelelegs for being the first to identify Friday’s Freak of the Week as the skull of a hyena, and extra awesome spectacular bonus points to 
mollisaurus for narrowing that down to the brown hyena, (Hyaena brunnea)! I had the idea recently to go back and tabulate and post the results of every FotW so far, as well as the winners, and then the ultimate all-time identifying champion will get a few posters from the UMZM! We have a poster calendar (it’s from 2008…. but it’s still so cool!) with images of specimens from our museum, as well as the NEW Bats of Montana poster featuring 15 native species, and on the back all of their data and locality information — SOOOO COOL! I will let you all have a little more time to compete for those stellar prizes, so remember that Freak of the Week is posted every Friday between 10:30 a.m. and 12noon Mountain time. We are getting close to the end of featuring all of the artists involved in our group art show. Today I bring you this magnificent painting, The Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum by Eric Carlson, a scientific illustrator and archaeologist graduate student here at the University of Montana. He has used the collection for research in his illustrative work before and is a big fan of our museum — this painting is very large, 4’ x 4’, acrylic on canvas, and is the most accurate portrayal of our crowded collections room that I have ever seen. It is an absolute must-see if you are on campus and going to check out our show! The detail work is fantastic and I just can’t express how much of a fan I am of this work, and so grateful Eric decided to participate in our show with us.
To see more work from that show, the gallery, and everything else:
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Helen Gregory
Helen Gregory is the current artist-in-residence at the Canadian Museum of Nature here in Ottawa. Her solo exhibition, Unrequited Death, questions museological practices and looks at the art of the collection. Gregory is inspired by real collections of specimens found in various natural history museums (including those from the Canadian Musem of Nature’s own collections) and she juxtaposes representations of biological specimens with richly colourful backgrounds reminiscent of Victorian fabric patterns. The result is an intriguing look at how natural historical collections capture our imaginations and our interests.
Unrequited Death is open at the Canadian Museum of Nature until September 3, 2012. More information about the show can be found here.
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Pietro da Cortona Anatomical drawings Rome: c.1618 MS Hunter 653 (Dl.1.29) by University of Glasgow Library on Flickr.
“This album of twenty anatomical drawings was intended to be used practically by the medical profession. Its vividly posed figures depicted within landscapes adorned with classical ruins are by Pietro Berrettini da Cortona (1596-1669), one of the most prominent artists of the Roman High Baroque. In the plate shown here, the thorax and abdomen have been opened up and the legs and arms dissected. The figure holds up a mirror - a favourite device in Baroque art - displaying his anatomised head in larger detail. The drawings are finished in brown ink and black chalk, washed with blue, sepia and grey; the nerves are highlighted with white paint. They were prepared from dissections made at the Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome in about 1618.”
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lords and ladies by MuseumWales on Flickr.
Arum maculatum (Lords and Ladies) from Flora Londinensis (1777-1787) published by William Curtis.
Hand-coloured engraving: 46cm x 31.5cm.
Flora Londinensis included all wild flowers growing within a ten mile radius of London, which was then surrounded by fields and undrained marshland. The hand-coloured illustrations are exceptionally delicate and precise so it is surprising that it failed to attract many subscribers. After ten years, Curtis had to admit financial defeat and in 1787, he produced the smaller Botanical Magazine, which is still in production today, over 200 years later.
Further information can be seen on Rhagor, the collections based website from Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.
Arum maculatum (Pidyn y Gog) o Flora Londinensis (1777-1787) a gyhoeddwyd gan William Curtis.
Roedd Flora Londinensis yn cynnwys yr holl flodau gwyllt a dyfai o fewn deng milltir i Lundain, a oedd bryd hynny wedi’i amgylchynu gan gaeau a thir corsiog heb ei ddraenio. Mae’r darluniau a liwiwyd gyda llaw yn arbennig o gain a manwl, felly mae’n syndod na lwyddodd i ddenu nifer o danysgrifwyr. Ar ôl deng mlynedd, roedd yn rhaid i Curtis dderbyn methiant ariannol ac ym 1787, cynhyrchodd y Botanical Magazine llai, sydd yn parhau i gael ei gyhoeddi heddiw, dros 200 mlynedd yn ddiweddarach. -
Ehret magnolia by MuseumWales on Flickr.
The mid-17th to mid-18th centuries saw the Golden Age of scientific illustration. In this age of curiosity, exploration, and experiment, the artist complimented the scientific process.
Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770) was one of the most talented artists of this era. This image shows a Magnolia from Ehret’s Plantae Selectae of 1772. Magnolias were a favourite of Ehret and he was said to have taken a daily walk to watch the progress of Magnolia grandiflora. Hand-coloured engraving:50cm x 35cm
Further information can be seen on Rhagor, the collections based website from Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.
Rhwng canol yr ail ganrif ar bymtheg a chanol y deunawfed ganrif gwelwyd Oes Aur darluniau gwyddonol. Yn yr oes hon o gywreinrwydd, archwilio ac arbrofi, roedd yr artist yn ategu’r broses wyddonol. Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770) oedd un o artistiaid mwyaf talentog y cyfnod hwn. Mae’r ddelwedd hon yn dangos Magnolia o Plantae Selectae Ehret ym 1772. Roedd Magnolias yn ffefryn i Ehret a dywedwyd ei fod yn mynd am dro yn ddyddiol i weld cynnydd y Magnolia grandiflora. -
papaya illustration by MuseumWales on Flickr.
papaya illustration
Carica papaya Papaya, from Plantae Selectae 1772 by Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770).
Hand-coloured engraving: 50cm x 35cm.
Many of the exotic fruits such as the Paw-paw and Pineapple were discovered on the great voyages of discovery during the 18th and 19th centuries and quickly became fashionable in Europe. The Paw-paw is a native of tropical America.
Further information can be seen on Rhagor, the collections based website from Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.
Papaya Carica papaya, o Plantae Selectae 1772 gan Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770).
Darganfuwyd nifer o’r ffrwythau egsotig megis y Paw-paw a’r Binafal ar deithiau darganfod yn ystod y ddeunawfed a’r bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg, a daethant yn ffasiynol yn gyflym yn Ewrop. Mae’r Paw-paw yn hanu o America drofannol. -
victoria regia waterlilly by MuseumWales on Flickr.
victoria regia waterlilly
Victoria regia, a water-lily named in honour of Queen Victoria, was discovered in South America in 1837, the year of her accession to the throne. It was later named Victoria amazonica.
The leaves were an astonishing 2 metres across. The daughter of Joseph Paxton, Head Gardner at Chatsworth where the water-lily first flowered in Britain, managed to stand on one leaf without it sinking. The structure of the plant inspired Joseph Paxton’s design for the Crystal Palace, built to house the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851. This highly detailed lithograph from the folio book Victoria regia 1854 by Walter Hood Fitch, illustrates the intricate structure of different parts of the plant.
Further information and images
Victoria regia, lili’r dŵr a enwyd er anrhydedd y Frenhines Fictoria, ac a ddarganfuwyd yn Ne America ym 1837, blwyddyn ei hesgyniad i’r orsedd.
Roedd y dail yn 2 fetr syfrdanol o led. Llwyddodd merch Joseph Paxton, Prif Arddwr Chatsworth, lle blodeuodd y lili’r dŵr cyntaf ym Mhrydain, i sefyll ar un ddeilen heb iddi suddo. Ysbrydolodd strwythur y planhigyn gynllun Joseph Paxton ar gyfer Crystal Palace, a adeiladwyd i gynnal y Great Exhibition yn Hyde Park ym 1851. Daw’r lithograff manwl iawn hwn o’r llyfr ffolio Victoria regia 1854 gan Walter Hood Fitch, ac mae’n darlunio strwythur cywrain gwahanol rannau o’r planhigyn. -
magnified nettle spines by MuseumWales on Flickr.
In 1665, Robert Hooke published a revolutionary book entitled Micrographia where minute details, such as the stinging spines of this nettle, were seen for the first time. Until the development of microscopy people were ignorant of the existence of intricate plant structures. Increasingly sophisticated microscopes allowed investigation of cell structure and small plants.
Further information can be seen on Rhagor, the collections based website from Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.
Ym 1665 cyhoeddodd Robert Hooke lyfr chwyldroadol o’r enw Micrographia lle gwelwyd manylion manwl, megis meingefn pigog y ddanhadlen hon, am y tro cyntaf. Hyd at ddatblygiad microsgopeg nid oedd gan bobl wybodaeth am fodolaeth strwythurau cymhleth planhigion. Gyda microsgopau cynyddol soffistigedig, galluogwyd ymchwilio i strwythur celloedd a phlanhigion bychain. -
carniverous-plant-illustrat by MuseumWales on Flickr.
Botanical Illustrations
From: National Museum Cardiff
This image shows the carnivorous plant Saracenia catesbaei, an unpublished illustration by Gillian Griffiths. The collection of over 7,000 botanical prints and drawings held at Amgueddfa Cymru shines light on the the human tales which lie behind the history of botanical discovery.
