Fishes X
1885-1890
Sir Frederick McCoy’s scientific illustration brings two striking fish to life with vibrant yellow and rust-colored fins that fan out like delicate peacock feathers. Created in the late 19th century, this plate captures the meticulous detail required for natural history documentation, complete with tiny anatomical sketches of jaws and scales floating nearby. As a pioneering Australian zoologist, McCoy relied on these hand-colored drawings as crucial visual records for species identification long before underwater photography existed. The fish seem to be swimming upward, their large, expressive eyes giving them an almost comical, curious personality.
- Technique
- Hand-colored lithograph
- Material
- Paper
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