Our new temporary installation Fusion18 is an ode to artists who are inspired by our collections, but also to scientific illustrators. In the natural sciences, a professional illustrator might create a excavation plan, a population distribution diagram, or an extremely precise drawing which accompanies the scientific description of a type specimen. Before the development of cameras, and more recently, 3D scanners, drawings were the only way to accurately depict THE reference specimen for a new species in a scientific publication.
Shark teeth, insects, shells, inner ear structures of fish, the reproductive system of snails ... Harry Van Paesschen, one of our illustrators for 34 (!) years, drew them all. ‘I prefer shells to elephants, because they don’t move’, he laughs. Why do you love this job soo much? ‘I’m given the time to draw. Before I came to @rbins, I worked in advertisement and I illustrated for magazines such as Ipso Facto: ‘a successful magazine for successful people’. Imagine that!’
Come and admire the work of our scientific illustrators, and of Belgian artist Frans Gentils and sketchers who are inspired by our collections. Join our Drawing Marathon on May 4th! Free entrance to the permanent galleries if you show your sketchbook!