Ophiodea. – Brittle Stars
1904
This mesmerizing plate comes from Ernst Haeckel's legendary 1904 book *Kunstformen der Natur* (Art Forms in Nature), a masterpiece that blurred the line between scientific observation and high art. The central creature is a basket star (*Astrophyton*), a deep-sea relative of the starfish that looks less like a sea animal and more like a swirling, baroque snowflake or a fantastical tree with curling branches. Haeckel, a German biologist, believed that nature was the ultimate artist, and his incredibly detailed illustrations of marine life actually helped launch the Art Nouveau movement. Architects and designers in the early 20th century went crazy for these organic, symmetrical shapes, using them to design everything from Parisian metro stations to intricate jewelry.