Do you know about natural history painting? It turns out that the beauty of nature can be recorded in this way...

In spring, flowers bloom in full bloom. People enjoy the beauty of nature while using modern technology to record the beautiful world. Compared with digital camera photography, there is another art called natural history painting, which shows the beauty and eternity of nature in another way.

Natural history drawing is a special kind of painting art, which accurately and objectively reproduces the natural form (expression) and intrinsic essential characteristics (anatomical relationship) of an object through painting. It complements the inadequacy of textual description in biological research through the sense organs (vision) to achieve the perfect unity of science and art.

The origins of natural history illustration

From ancient times to the present, we know that natural history drawings have shown a clear development trajectory in terms of content, techniques, and application scope. First of all, our ancestors have tried to carve plant stems and leaves on animal bones very early, and there are also some simple plant element symbols on early civilization pottery. The real need to record plant morphology began after humans discovered that some plants have medicinal value. This kind of painting record later developed into an art form with perceptual aesthetics and rational science.

The ancient Greek Pharmacopoeia "Codex Vindobonensis" is the earliest plant atlas in human history. China's "Compendium of Materia Medica" also uses drawing methods to provide a basis for identifying medicinal materials.

Since the beginning of the "Great Discovery" era in the 16th century, explorers have set foot on new continents and seen strange creatures that have never been seen before. Specimens and paintings at that time became the only evidence that could prove the existence of these species. For dry and boring specimens, paintings are not only easier to preserve and spread, but also make the creatures more "alive" and give them vitality.

In this way, biological illustration gradually emerged with the mission of explanation and cognition, and became an independent industry called "Natural historical illustration".

The significance of natural history drawings

In recent years, with the active promotion of relevant institutions, natural history drawings have gradually been recognized by the public, and related paintings have been exhibited one after another.

Natural history drawings have extremely special significance and scientific value. Achieving a deeper understanding of everything around us is a way to understand the world. In a broad sense, natural history drawings are to understand the world with your hands, to feel with your heart, and to depict with your hands. In the history of human civilization, natural history drawings have always been an important means of recording nature. It combines the attributes of both art and science and is a distinctive art form, namely: the perfect unity of science and artistry.

Natural history drawing is an important part in teaching and scientific research. Even today when photography technology is so advanced, natural history drawing is still irreplaceable.

Natural history drawing plays a very good auxiliary and supporting role in teaching and scientific research, and it is an important link that cannot be ignored. First, natural history drawing is a special art form and means, and only natural history drawing can achieve the perfect unity of science and art. Second, in the plant kingdom, the morphological structure and size of plants in different groups vary greatly. From the cell structure of plants (microscopic), to a flower, a leaf, a grass, a tree, to complex plant communities and landscape ecology (macroscopic), all of the above types can be truly expressed through the skills of natural history drawing.

The shortcomings of photography technology - it is difficult to fully express the main characteristics of plants in photography (such as the direction of leaf veins, the serrations of leaf edges, the internal tissue structure of flowers, etc.). The influence of light and shooting angle on objects - due to the limitations of light and shooting angle, photos sometimes cannot clearly express certain plant classification characteristics (drawings can show details). Natural history drawings can accurately and meticulously reflect the parts and morphological characteristics of plants such as flowers, fruits, roots, stems, leaves, etc. by depicting the details of each part of the object.

Natural history drawing is a special art form and means. Only natural history drawing can achieve the perfect unity of science and art.

Author: Hu Dongmei, teacher at Beijing Forestry University