The Natural History Museum's collections contain over half-a-
million artworks. Explore a selection of the finest artworks
from the Museum's collections and learn how techniques for
making a visual record of the natural world have developed since
the 17th century. Artists and scientists have been inspired by
the natural world for centuries. Images capture nature in ways
that compliment the words and data of science. Illustrations and
paintings give instantly understandable and memorable pictures
that communicate something of their subject’s essential nature.
But art isn’t the whole picture. Imaging techniques have
developed in sync with science so that today we also benefit
from advanced photographic tools and incredibly sophisticated
imaging technology. Find out how artists and image makers have
worked with scientists to describe and record the natural world
since the 17th century. Learn about some of the techniques used
over the last 300 years and about the work of 3 modern-day
artists in these videos. Explo