The influence of scientific knowledge on mollusk and arthropod illustration

ABSTRACT Our attraction to fossils is almost as old as humans themselves, and the way fossils are represented has changed and evolved with technology and with our knowledge of these organisms. Invertebrates were the first fossils to be represented in books and illustrated according to their original form. The first worldwide illustrations of paleoinvertebrates by recognized authors, such as Christophorus Encelius and Conrad Gessner, considered only their general shape. Over time, paleoillustrations became more accurate and showed the position of organisms when they were alive and as they had appeared when found. Encyclopedic works such as those of the Sowerbys or Joachim Barrande have left an important legacy on fossil invertebrates, summarizing the knowledge of their time. Currently, new discoveries, techniques, and comparison with extant specimens are changing the way in which the same organisms are shown in life position, with previously overlooked taxonomically important elements being displayed using modern techniques. This chapter will cover the history of illustrations, unpublished nineteenth-century author illustrations, examples showing fossil reconstructions, new techniques and their influence on taxonomical work with regard to illustration, and the evolution of paleoinvertebrate illustration.

The illustrations of Brongniart and Cuvier illuminate paleontology in the early nineteenth century

ABSTRACT The concept of biostratigraphy was a significant step in the evolution of geoscience. Alexandre Brongniart (1770–1847) and Georges Cuvier (1769–1832) were key contributors to developing the subdiscipline as they worked to decode the stratigraphy of the Paris Basin in the first decades of the nineteenth century. Their illustrations of fossils, local geologic columns, and a regional geologic map played a decisive role in furthering an understanding of the value of paleontology in the service of illuminating Earth history.

Development of paleontological art in Poland

ABSTRACT The first illustrations of geo-objects—different crystals of salt—from Poland were included by U. Aldrovandi in his Musaeum Metallicum (1648). The first publications containing paleontological sketches of fossil remains of animals and plants appeared in the early eighteenth century. G.A. Helwing, in his Lithographia Angerburgica (1717) and Lithographiae Angerburgicae Pars II (1720), included drawings of fossils of various ages from the Peri-Baltic area. G.A. Volkmann’s Silesia Subterranea (1720) was extensively illustrated by elaborate sketches of fossils including Carboniferous plants from the Lower Silesia region. In 1764, J.-É. Guettard published an important paper on the geology of Poland that contained detailed illustrations of fossils from various parts of the country. S. Staszic, in his two seminal books published in 1805 and 1815, provided detailed illustrations of animal remains, mainly bones of large, extinct mammals. This “pioneering era” of development of paleontological art came to an end with publications by two geologists that laid the foundations of modern paleontology in Poland: Polens Paläontologie by G.G. Pusch (1836) and Paleontologia Polska (1846) by L. Zejszner. In less than 150 years, paleontological art evolved from simple illustrations of “curious objects” from the subsurface to scientific drawings that marked the birth of modern paleontology.

Fossil illustrations from the work of William Smith

ABSTRACT William Smith’s Strata Identified by Organized Fossils, published between 1816 and 1819, was one of the most important books in the development of stratigraphy; it was also significant in the evolution of paleontological art and illustration. For the first time, Smith organized fossil illustrations in plates according to the order of the strata. Each stratigraphic plate showed characteristic assemblages of fossils. The publication was a joint venture between Smith and James Sowerby and it was Sowerby who elevated the work into the realm of art. Smith had been influenced by the work of previous authors, in particular Robert Plot and John Morton, who, some 150 years earlier, had published texts illustrated by fossil engravings. The difference between these engravings and those of Sowerby shows the extent to which fossil illustration had evolved. Unlike previous work where the engravings were very mechanical, Sowerby’s were extraordinarily naturalistic. By means of subtle lines, stipple, and water coloring, Sowerby was able to achieve extremely realistic and aesthetically pleasing artwork. Unusually, many of Smith’s originals fossils are still intact and when photographs of these specimens are compared to the illustrations, the quality of Sowerby’s work is striking. Smith also selected earth-colors for the paper on which the illustrations were produced, with colors reflecting the strata in which the fossils were embedded. Although this technique had some disadvantages, it aimed to bridge the gap between science and art.

Henry De la Beche’s pioneering paleoecological illustration, Duria antiquior

ABSTRACT In late 1829 or early 1830, Henry Thomas De la Beche (1796–1855), in collaboration with William Buckland (1784–1856), published Duria antiquior [A more ancient Dorsetshire], the earliest known paleoecological illustration of ancient life. De la Beche’s interpretation was based largely on fossils then recently uncovered from Lower Jurassic (Lias) rocks near Lyme Regis on the south coast of England. Many of these were brought to scientific attention by local fossil collector and dealer Mary Anning (1799–1847). De la Beche published Duria antiquior as a lithograph, copies of which were sold as a fundraiser for Anning, who was then in straitened circumstances. Duria antiquior represented a new style of paleontological illustration that pioneered a new scientific genre addressing the history of nature and an innovative viewpoint where the observer glimpses lifeforms through the water. Other authors modified and adopted De la Beche’s visionary illustration, and the style became commonplace in popular geological publications in the later nineteenth century. Duria antiquior can be acknowledged as the pioneering graphic from which fossil organisms’ reconstructions and modern computer-generated paleoecosystem animations trace their origins.

The fossilist and his engraver: Samuel Springsguth’s illustrations of James Parkinson’s Organic Remains

ABSTRACT James Parkinson was an apothecary surgeon, political activist, and paleontologist during the latter part of the long eighteenth century. He is most famous for his 1817 work, An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, in which he was the first to describe and define the symptoms of paralysis agitans, a condition now known as Parkinson’s disease. During his lifetime, however, he was internationally renowned for his three-volume study of fossils, Organic Remains of a Former World. Sales of this work continued for 25 years after Parkinson’s death, even though much of its scientific content had become redundant. This was due to the beauty and fidelity of its illustrations, although Samuel Springsguth, the illustrator and engraver, is never explicitly acknowledged in the work. By examining several extant fossils known to have been in Parkinson’s collection and illustrated in his works, it has been possible to gain some insight into the way that Parkinson and Springsguth worked together when illustrating these volumes.

“But why paint a dinosaur blue?”: Envisioning the Cretaceous— A vitalizing, multidisciplinary project in a university museum

ABSTRACT In 2017–2018, two fine arts undergraduate students, Todd Rowan and Moesha Wright, conceived and created a mural for the Dunn-Seiler Museum at Mississippi State University, Mississippi, USA, under the supervision of art professor emeritus Brent Funderburk. Students researched, conceptualized, and painted Mississippi Cretaceous Panorama, which interpreted the Late Cretaceous landscape that once surrounded the university and the momentous extinction event that brought the Mesozoic Era to its close. The project necessitated creativity to address several chal lenges, including funding, space constraints, and a local population with Young Earth views. The completed mural engages museum visitors with a mosasaur, ceratopsian dinosaur, and a meteorite impact—illustrating the local, terminal Mesozoic geologic history in a nonthreatening venue that can improve community geoliteracy.

Fossilarium: Paintings inspired by micropaleontological thin sections

ABSTRACT Inspired by his late father’s thin section micropaleontology, artist Giles Ford created the Fossilarium, a series of large-scale paintings that investigates the nature of time and space through investigation of the miniature. Ford reflects on the influences of his work and how he developed a visual language inspired by repeating patterns of his father’s microfossil thin sections. The Fossilarium presents abstract landscapes of interwoven time explored through layered images that intertwine the geological, industrial, societal, and personal spectrums. The Fossilarium thereby seeks to create timeless patterns that probe different subject areas from pure aesthetics through the Anthropocene and climate change provocations to more intimate multigenerational explorations of the thread of family history, loss, and the future. Through his paintings, Ford seeks to bring the micropaleontological view to a wider audience by posing questions about the role of industry, fossil fuels, the artist, and climate change.