I AM A HUMAN.

(Source: mefjus, via colin-vian)

smithsonianlibraries:

World Oceans Day gives us the opportunity to share some plates from Kunstformen der Natur by Ernst Haeckel (1899-1904). While the work is inclusive of non-marine species, Haeckel’s focus on marine biodiversity is apparent as the majority of the 100 lithographic prints covered sea creatures like jellyfish, anemones, radiolarians and more.

A divisive figure, Haeckel continues to awe for his illustrations and draw ire for his theories and philosophies on human evolution (and his prioritization of aesthetic choices over scientific realism in his illustrations…) But his impulse to make science accessible to the public, his bridging the gap between art and science, and his lasting impact on biology make him a considerable figure in the history of science.

Learn more about the German naturalist from Biodiversity Heritage Library, the Public Domain Review, Scientific American, or biographies like The Tragic Sense of Life: Ernst Haeckel and the Struggle over Evolutionary Thought by Robert J. Richards (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008) or Visions of Nature: the Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel by Olaf Breidbach (Munich, London: Prestel, 2006).

See more Haeckel-related material from the Smithsonian Libraries in the Smithsonian Collections Search, many of which are digitized.

(Source: biodiversitylibrary.org, via scientificillustration)