on the inside

Dream Anatomy is an online exhibit from the U.S. Library of Medicine. It features some interesting history and information about the development of Anatomy and Anatomical drawing throughout the ages. It is really amazing that most of what we know about the workings of the human body have become known only in the last few hundred years, when humans have been on the earth far longer than that.


If you follow the link to the Gallery section, you will see many images from the other sections of the website; click on them and some will open into extremely large files, which are great for study, and to really understand the difference in rendering and printing techniques used.

still life

By now I'm sure that it's no secret that we here at Darkened Forest have an affinity for all things taxidermy, especially old, haggard, Victorian historical taxidermy. Perhaps this is a contradiction in interests being that we are both vegetarians and aren't particularly keen on the killing of animals. But maybe it's by sheer adoration of the animal form that draws us to their likeness, stuffed or otherwise.
All that said, I've found that THIS SITE is a very comprehensive resource on the the history of modern taxidermy, for institutional, scientific as well aesthetic interests.

naturally

Walton Ford, creates magnificent, life-sized watercolors of all manner of the world's creatures.
While the work is often satirical and/or political, it disguises itself as that of old naturalist studies.
Truly impressive stuff for not only it's masterful creation, but scale and volume of work.

flimsy sheets of history

If you're looking for a nice gift for somebody, or yourself, head over to Panteek Antique Prints and check out their selection. Head straight for the "clearance" area, there are a lot of lovely prints there in the 45-dollar range, like this shell print from 1849 .



It's also a great place to go for artistic reference purposes, and I will be the first to admit that I have downloaded just about every image on the website, to catalog it for future usage. The website itself is a far cry from being aesthetically stimulating, but it's easy to navigate.