Marine Life Archives - Page 6 of 9

Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.020 (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, frozen mid-battle. These creatures defy nature—flaring fins, exaggerated spines, colors too bold for any ocean. Each specimen twists reality into something stranger, wilder.
Notolabrus celidotus (NZ) _ Wrasse (1875)

Frank Edward Clarke (New Zealander, 1864–1935)

A wrasse glides through unseen waters, its scales catching the light in flashes of orange and blue. The precise brushwork traces every fin and curve, as if the fish might dart off the page at any moment.
Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.015 (1718-1719)

Louis Renard (French, 1678–1746)

Vibrant fish dart across the page, their scales shimmering in impossible hues. A crimson crab claws at the edge, while spined crayfish lurk below. Each creature twists with exaggerated flair—nature’s oddities amplified into spectacle.
1. Chaetodon unimaculatus; 2. Chaetodon arcuatus, The Arc-Fish. (1785-1797)

Marcus Elieser Bloch (German, 1723–1799)

Two tropical fish, one spotted, the other striped in bold arcs, float against a blank background. Their delicate fins and intricate patterns emerge from precise black lines, each scale rendered with scientific clarity. The contrast between their forms highlights nature’s playful variations within a single species.
Die polycladen des golfes von Neapel und der angrenzenden meeres-abschnitte pl8 (1884)

Arnold Lang (Dutch, unknown)

Delicate polyclads glide across the page, their flattened forms revealing intricate patterns. These marine flatworms from the Gulf of Naples display nature’s precision—each undulating edge and subtle marking captured with scientific clarity. A hidden world of seafloor elegance unfolds in precise lines and careful shading.
Die polycladen des golfes von Neapel und der angrenzenden meeres-abschnitte pl10 (1884)

Arnold Lang (Dutch, unknown)

Delicate polyclads glide across the page, their flattened bodies traced with intricate patterns. These marine flatworms from the Gulf of Naples reveal nature’s precision—each undulating edge, every subtle marking documented with scientific clarity. A hidden world of seafloor elegance unfolds in precise ink strokes.
Globe fish and Coffer fish (1893-1896)

Pierre Jacques Smit (Dutch, unknown)

Two fish hover on the page—one round as a lantern, the other boxy with rough edges. Delicate watercolor washes bring their scales to life, each brushstroke hinting at the ocean’s hidden oddities. No waves, no reefs, just these peculiar forms suspended in pale emptiness.
Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.012 (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 bizarre, almost alien forms. The sea’s strangest creatures, frozen mid-motion, as if plucked from a fevered dream of the deep.
Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires.. Pl.052 (1718-1719) (1)

Louis Renard (French, 1678–1746)

Vibrant fish dart across the page, their scales shimmering in impossible hues. A crimson crab claws at the edge, while a cobalt crayfish curls beside it—each creature more fantastical than the last, as if plucked from a fever dream of the deep.