Ernst Haeckle

I was introduced to the artwork of Ernst Haeckle from my friend Christine who lent me a book of his drawings that contained jellyfish. I was amazed at his drawings and attention to detail. He drew different types of jellyfish than your normal drawings and his collection was huge.

Ernst Haeckle was a German zoologist, naturalist, eugenicist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist, and artist who discovered, described and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and created many terms in biology in the 19th century. He made colourful drawings of the organisms he discovered.

He made discoveries of deep sea & microscopic life, and it was made possible by the scientific evolutions of the 19th century. He was very eager to show the public of his discoveries but I personally think his drawings are even better. It just shows how much life is beaming under the sea, and in the 19th century this would have been revolutionary.

I really love the drawings on darker paper with the white, which is very unlike me as I usually like colour, however the detail really gets shown on the dark paper with the white and it truly shows off the translucency of the jellyfish. His drawings are truly a work of art and I don't think i'd ever have the patience to draw something so intricate and detailed.