I have been fascinated by the glass sculptures and models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka since seeing them in the NHM a few years ago. The detail and intricacy they have achieved using glass is astounding. Their scientific models of marine invertebrates look breathtakingly fragile and delicate. I am particularly in awe of the Portuguese man o’ war model which captures the translucency and textures of the jellyfish perfectly. Modelled smaller than life the glass both stained and painted to reveal structures of Physalia physalis, (see image below.)
A glass model of a Portuguese man o’ war, Leopold Blaschka (1822-1895), circa 1877. 8½ x 4 x 3 in (21.5 x 10 x 8 cm). Sold for £10,000 on 30 January 2019 at Christie’s in London
“The medium is certainly suitable for rendering such creatures. They have a translucence, which matches that of glass. But that’s to take nothing away from Leopold’s technical feat. It is his texture I find extraordinary: the way he achieved a gelatinous character that’s so lifelike and compelling.’”
The Blaschkas would make the models for scientific use only and would be sold to museums of natural history. Unlike the preserved invertebrates, the glass models would retain their colour, and therefore providing a more accurate representation of the living specimen. They also made models of microscopic radiolaria inspired by the drawings of Ernst Haeckel. The following video highlights some of the NHM collection of Blaschka models.
Diatoms by Ernst Haeckel in 'Kunstformen der Natur' 1904.