I grew up in Bologna, a city where science and art merge in many strange ways. At university, many of my classes took place in old anatomical theaters, next to dusty zoology collections which I often stopped to explore (and sketch). These settings clearly had a lot of influence on my art.
When people ask me for my favorite artist, my hometown naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi is certainly up there in the pantheon of weird science illustrators (next to Maria Sibylla Merian and Ernest Haeckel). The weird creatures collected in his 1642 book Monstrorum Historia are an endless source of inspiration. In particular, I have always been fascinated by this strange ‘deer with numerous antlers’ which looks halfway between a grotesque unicorn and a stag with a party hat.
This month I took some time to retrace it and add a bit of color. It was a really fun process and I’m thinking of doing more of these public domain science ‘remixes’ – let me know if you have any requests!
If you like this you can buy a print on cartoonscience.org