Rivierkreeft ontleedt in stukken before 1901

This dissected crayfish was made by Adolphe Louis Donnadieu at some point, using black ink on paper. It's like looking at an exploded diagram, each piece laid out in stark contrast. The stark black and white creates this kind of eerie, clinical feel, but it's also weirdly beautiful. The heavy blacks of the claws fade out, leaving these delicate, spidery lines to suggest the legs. The way the artist captured the texture is incredible; it's like you can almost feel the smoothness of the shell, and the spikiness of the claws. Look at the way the tail segments get smaller and smaller towards the bottom of the image. It's a masterclass in reduction! It reminds me a bit of the scientific illustrations of Ernst Haeckel, but with a touch more… morbidity. Art history is just an ongoing conversation with people who are dead. This piece invites so many interpretations, doesn’t it? It is both a scientific record and a work of art.