Fishes Archives - Page 3 of 13

Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.013 (1718-1719)

Louis Renard (French, 1678–1746)

Vibrant fish, crayfish, and crabs twist across the page—some striped, others spiked, all with exaggerated colors and strange forms. The creatures seem to writhe under the viewer’s gaze, as if plucked from a fever dream of the sea.
Pleuronectes Argus, The Argus-Flounder. (1785-1797)

Marcus Elieser Bloch (German, 1723–1799)

The flounder lies flat, its mottled skin mimicking sand. One eye has migrated, both now staring upward—a silent hunter waiting beneath the seabed. The engraving traces each irregular spot, as if the fish might blink and vanish into the ocean floor.
Unidentified Fish

Luigi Balugani (Italian, 1737–1770)

A sleek, unnamed fish glides through the page, its scales shimmering in delicate watercolor strokes. Every fin and curve is rendered with precision, as if caught mid-motion in some unseen current. The creature feels alive, yet its identity remains a mystery, inviting closer study.
Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.011 (1718-1719)

Louis Renard (French, 1678–1746)

Vibrant fish dart across the page, their scales shimmering in impossible hues. A crimson crab claws at a cobalt crayfish, both creatures twisted into fantastical shapes. The sea teems with life—each specimen more bizarre than the last, as if plucked from a fevered dream of the ocean’s depths.
Perca punctata, The Negro-fish. (1785-1797) (1)

Marcus Elieser Bloch (German, 1723–1799)

The spotted perch glides across the page, its scales etched with precision. Dark bands ripple down its flank like shadows in water. Every fin, every gill slit rendered sharp enough to catch the light. A silent swimmer frozen mid-motion, yet alive with the energy of unseen currents.
Cataphractus costatus, The Rib-fish. (1785-1797)

Marcus Elieser Bloch (German, 1723–1799)

A spined fish, armored in bony plates, floats suspended on the page. Its ribbed body curves with precision, each scale etched in sharp detail—a specimen preserved not in brine, but ink and paper. The lines suggest motion, as if it might flick its tail and dart off the sheet.
Cyprinus macrophthalmus, The Telescope. (1785-1797)

Marcus Elieser Bloch (German, 1723–1799)

A bulbous-eyed fish stares from the page, its scales meticulously etched. The exaggerated gaze gives it an almost alien presence, frozen mid-swim against blank parchment. Every fin and gill is rendered with scientific precision, yet the creature feels alive, as if it might flick its tail and vanish into the margins.
Recherches sur les poissons fossiles Pl.391 (1833-1843)

Louis Agassiz (American, 1807–1873)

Delicate fins and sharp scales emerge from stone, frozen mid-motion. The engraving reveals ancient fish suspended in time, their forms precise yet ghostly against the blank page. Each line hints at life long vanished, preserved now only in these meticulous traces.
Hypoplectrodes semicinctum (1875)

Frank Edward Clarke (New Zealander, 1864–1935)

A slender fish glides through pale water, its body striped with dusky bands. Delicate fins ripple like translucent silk, each brushstroke capturing the creature’s quiet grace. The muted colors suggest depth—a fleeting glimpse of life beneath the surface.