Fishes

  • Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.014 (1718-1719)

    Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.014 (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 twisted into fantastical shapes. The sea here teems with creatures that defy nature—each more bizarre and vivid than the last.

  • Fishes XIII (1885-1890)

    Fishes XIII (1885-1890)

    Frederick McCoy (Irish, unknown)

    Delicate watercolor strokes bring these fish to life—each scale, fin, and gill rendered with scientific precision. The colors bleed softly, as if the creatures might flick their tails and slip off the page. A quiet study of form and movement, frozen in ink and pigment.

  • Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.030 (1718-1719)

    Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.030 (1718-1719)

    Louis Renard (French, 1678–1746)

    Vibrant fish dart among spiny crabs and crayfish, their scales shimmering in impossible hues. Each creature twists with exaggerated, almost fantastical forms—nature amplified into something stranger, more vivid. The sea here teems with life both familiar and utterly alien.

  • Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.025 (1718-1719)

    Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.025 (1718-1719)

    Louis Renard (French, 1678–1746)

    Vibrant fish, crayfish, and crabs twist across the page—some striped, others spiked, all rendered in exaggerated hues. The creatures seem to writhe with life, their unnatural colors and strange forms blurring the line between scientific record and wild imagination.

  • Unidentified Fish (4)

    Unidentified Fish (4)

    Luigi Balugani (Italian, 1737–1770)

    A sleek, unnamed fish glides through the page, its scales alive with watercolor hues—vibrant yet precise, as if caught mid-motion. The delicate brushstrokes suggest a creature both studied and fleeting, a mystery preserved in pigment. What secrets does this aquatic enigma hold?

  • 1. Eques americanus, The Ribban-Fish; 2. Scomber Kleinii, Klein’s Mackrel. (1785-1797)

    1. Eques americanus, The Ribban-Fish; 2. Scomber Kleinii, Klein’s Mackrel. (1785-1797)

    Marcus Elieser Bloch (German, 1723–1799)

    Two fish, precise in every scale: one striped like silk ribbon, the other a sleek mackerel. The lines carve life into paper, cold-blooded elegance preserved in ink. No water here, just the sharp clarity of a specimen pinned to the page.

  • Unidentified Fish (5)

    Unidentified Fish (5)

    Luigi Balugani (Italian, 1737–1770)

    A slender fish, scales shimmering in watery light, drifts across the page. Its delicate fins fan out like translucent silk, caught mid-motion. The precise brushstrokes suggest careful observation—each gill, each subtle curve of the body rendered with quiet attention. Something about its unnamed existence feels both fleeting and permanent.

  • Tetrodon Lagocephalus, The Starry Globe-fish. (1785-1797)

    Tetrodon Lagocephalus, The Starry Globe-fish. (1785-1797)

    Marcus Elieser Bloch (German, 1723–1799)

    The starry globe-fish floats suspended, its spiked body a delicate map of constellations against the paper’s pale void. Each engraving line traces the precise curve of its spines, the subtle gradient of its speckled skin—a scientific record transformed into quiet, meticulous art.

  • Fishes X (1885-1890)

    Fishes X (1885-1890)

    Frederick McCoy (Irish, unknown)

    Delicate watercolor strokes bring these fish to life—each scale, fin, and glint of light rendered with scientific precision. The colors bleed softly, as if the creatures might dart off the page into deeper water.