Medusa-phase jellyfish or sea jellies: borderless version of early 1900s painting by German wildlife artist Paul Flanderky (1872-1937), published as a (now rare) chromolithograph to illustrate the 1911-18 4th edition of 'Brehms Tierleben' ('Brehm’s Animal Life').
Medusa-phase jellyfish or sea jellies float freely in this borderless version of a rare chromolithograph reproduction of a beautiful artwork painted in subtle tones by German wildlife artist Paul Flanderky (1872-1937). The painting was published as a colour plate in the revised 4th edition (1911-18) of the German zoological encyclopaedia, ’Brehms Tierleben’ (Brehm’s Animal Life). The Tierleben or Thierleben first appeared in 1860 as a 10-volume reference work or encyclopaedia under the direction of zoologist, writer and traveller Alfred Edmund Brehm (1829-1884). By 1911, it had grown to 13 volumes. Paul Flanderky was trained at the Royal Porcelain Manufactory and the Museum of Applied Arts, both in Berlin, and also at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. He qualified as a drawing teacher and taught at the Lessing-Gymnasium, a Berlin high school. He illustrated children’s books and biology text books as well as providing artworks for Brehms Tierleben. Jellyfish and sea jellies are informal names for the medusa-phase in the life cycle of some gelatinous members of the phylum (biological category) Medusozoa, part of the wider Cnidaria grouping. Most are free-swimming marine animals with umbrella-shaped pulsating ‘bells’ and trailing tentacles equipped with stings that can inflict mild pain, serious injury or even death. Flanderky’s painting features different types of jellyfish in two classes: Hydrozoa (mostly small, transparent and sting-free) and Scyphozoa or ‘true jellyfish’ (larger, more colourful and much more deadly). This image comes from our exclusive high resolution scan of an original early 1900s full colour book plate, and is available in three versions on : full page with original title and borders, the illustration without borders or title and, lastly, a square crop of part of the artwork.
Size: 8167px × 12544px
Location: Berlin, Germany.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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