Borrissiak Paleontological Institute RAS
Flyorov, a Russian scientist and museum director, reveled in color above all else. His paintings are among the most dazzling and unusual in the paleoart canon.
www.zdenekburian.com
Distinctive silhouettes of the distant mammoths recall those painted on cave walls thousands of years ago. Perhaps Burian, who spent so much time imagining the prehistoric world, felt a certain kinship with the Paleolithic artists who first depicted these animals.
Borrissiak Paleontological Institute RAS
These two species cropped up regularly in Soviet--era paleoart. Konstantin Konstantinovich Flyorov, who painted the same beasts early in his career, despised Bystrow's interpretation, snidely calling the rival artist "color blind."
courtesy of taschen
For the earliest paleoartists, fossil bones were blank slates upon which they could project their own imaginative elaborations. Pannemaker's image served as the frontispiece for W. F. A. Zimmerman's "Le monde avant la création de l'homme (1857)."
Eleanor Kish, © Canadian Museum of Nature
One of the rare women working in the field, Canadian artist Ely Kish's subjects endure extreme weather conditions in scenes that may reflect the growing awareness of global climate change during her lifetime.
Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History, New York
Charles R. Knight was one of the foremost American paleoartists. These predators likely represent paleontologists Othniel C. Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, whose savage competition defined early American paleontology.
courtesy of taschen
From the very beginning, artists and scientists portrayed ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs as dire enemies. The reptiles, warring above the waves, became the single most prevalent motif in nineteenth-century paleoart.
courtesy of taschen
Concrete monsters materialized within a workshop on the grounds of the Crystal Palace, a revolutionary glass and cast-iron structure used to house the Great Exhibition of 1851.
courtesy of taschen
Taschen's new book "Dinosaurs Are Forever: Visions of the Prehistoric Past" explores the art of paleontology throughout history.
CNN  — 

Paleontology may be considered a science, but there’s an art to it nonetheless. With fossils raising countless unanswered questions – from dinosaurs’ temperaments to the texture of their skin – attempts to envisage prehistory have always involved elements of guesswork. And for almost 200 years, paleoart has been filling the gaps in our knowledge.

Dinosaur skulls and mammoth tusks: Antique oddities target new collectors

By piecing together available science and their own creativity, paleoartists have enraptured generations of dinosaur lovers. But their artwork also offers insight into the science and art of their day, according to a new book on the subject.

“Paleoart: Visions of the Prehistoric Past” explores the history of paleoart, from 19th century engravings to bold Soviet-era oil paintings.

A collaboration between writer Zoë Lescaze (who previously worked as an archaeological illustrator) and painter Walton Ford, the book charts how portrayals of dinosaurs have evolved since the birth of paleoart in the 1830s.

The Ancient art that has moved from caves to human flesh

An 1857 engraving by François Pannemaker, for instance, shows two serpentine dinosaurs – one with a devilish forked tongue – facing off as volcanos erupt in the background. Meanwhile, post-war paleoartists like Ely Kish, who painted dinosaurs for the Canadian Museum of Nature, opted for hyper-realism informed by the latest research.

Despite the artworks’ diversity, every vision of the prehistoric world serves to remind us of two things: humans’ capacity for imagination and the limits of our knowledge.

“Paleoart: Visions of the Prehistoric” is available through Taschen.