Illustration by Waterhouse
Hawkins (1853) Where Science and Art Meet
Waterhouse Hawkins (1807-1889) and Charles Knight (1874-1953) were among the
first artists to create realistic images of dinosaurs. Some artists
work closely with scientists to “bring dinosaurs to life;” others
rely more on their imaginations. This activity gives you an opportunity to
choose a piece of art, observe it closely, and check its scientific validity.
To get started, scientists
and artists use evidence to bring fossil discoveries
to life:
- Fossil specimens and geological clues are used
to develop a picture of the ancient environment and
the plants and animals that lived alongside dinosaurs.
- Surfaced textur on fossilized bones sometimes preserves clues
about where muscles were attached
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Illustration by Charles Knight (1907)
Laelaps
However, artists and scientists need to use a certain amount of imagination
to fill in details that aren’t preserved in the fossil
record – these include most things that relate to soft
body parts.
- Skin texture
- Eye color
- Shape of pupil
- Behavior, lifestyle, social interactions
Artists that care about being scientifically accurate will
study living plants and animals closely and base their final
artistic decisions on what today’s living world. For
example, skin color and skin texture are often based on recent
reptiles.
Keep these things in mind as you do the activity:
1. Pick a painting or illustration to study- look for a piece
of artwork that has good detail, a variety of color and
a range of plants and animals. Here are some paleoartist ’ web
sites to get you started:
2. Study the art you have chosen. See if you can find the
name of the artist. Did they sign their work?
3. Make a sketch of the piece you have chosen.
Answer the following questions:
1. Do you feel that this painting is realistic? If
you feel it IS realistic, what techniques did the artist
use to make it realistic? If you feel it is NOT realistic,
why not? (Think about color and tone, details, foreground,
background, proportion).
2. What scientific evidence do you think would be
necessary for the artist to have created this painting/
illustration?
3. What aspects of this painting/ illustration do
you think are based purely in the artist’s imagination?
Why? |
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Background information:
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