Anastasia Lvova

Proteus

Documentary film by David LeBrun

This animated documentary charts the life of painter and biologist Ernst Haeckel, who, in the 19th century, makes a number of fascinating discoveries about what lurks below the sea. Haeckel uncovers thousands of distinct underwater species, and depicts his scientific findings in his spectacular art. He simultaneously inspires the imagination of his followers and advances the cause of science. The creatures he paints are, to many people, glorious proof of a supreme being.

 

The ocean is a wilderness reaching round the globe,
wilder than a Bengal jungle, and fuller of monsters,
washing the very wharves of our cities and the gardens of
our sea-side residences. – Henry David Thoreau, 1864