What do you think?
Rate this book
Evolution as Inspiration
This catalogue was produced to accompany the exhibition 'Evolution as Inspiration,' held at the Museum of Zoology in 2019. Paintings and sculptures by renowned naturalist and artist Jonathan Kingdon were displayed alongside specimens of the animals that inspired them. A book that explores the extraordinary beauty of nature, now available to buy online for the first time.
Product details:
Paperback, 22 x 24 cm
Published 2019
Product details:
Paperback, 22 x 24 cm
Published 2019
46 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2019
About the author
Jonathan Kingdon
55 books9 followersJonathan Kingdon is a zoologist, science author, and artist; a research associate at the University of Oxford. He focuses on taxonomic illustration and evolution of the mammals of Africa. He is a contributor to The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 12, 2025
Evolution as Inspiration is a field journal
dreamt in oil paint and bronze,
where bone meets brushstroke and lays out
creatures
like constellations pulled from the earth's core,
their lines puppeteering the taxidermist’s scalpel and the artist’s hand.
The pages smell of pathologist labs and fresh pigment.
Horns curl into question marks,
feathers break the frame,
skin folds like maps of countries no longer drawn.
Each sculpture, each sketch, is a translation
of instinct into form,
of evolution’s slow grammar
into something you can hold in your palm.
It is less a catalogue than a conversation
between the dead and "las cosas vivientes",
between the museum’s hush and the wild’s pulse
the kind of dialogue you overhear once,
and spend years trying to remember.
dreamt in oil paint and bronze,
where bone meets brushstroke and lays out
creatures
like constellations pulled from the earth's core,
their lines puppeteering the taxidermist’s scalpel and the artist’s hand.
The pages smell of pathologist labs and fresh pigment.
Horns curl into question marks,
feathers break the frame,
skin folds like maps of countries no longer drawn.
Each sculpture, each sketch, is a translation
of instinct into form,
of evolution’s slow grammar
into something you can hold in your palm.
It is less a catalogue than a conversation
between the dead and "las cosas vivientes",
between the museum’s hush and the wild’s pulse
the kind of dialogue you overhear once,
and spend years trying to remember.
Displaying 1 of 1 review