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ERNST HAECKEL: ART FORMS IN NATURE
DISCOMEDUSAE: Desmonema Annasethe Haeckel (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa)
On the day that Haeckel was informed that he had received the prestigious Cothenius Medal from the Berlin Academy, his wife of 18 months died suddenly of an undetermined fever. Haeckel was devastated. A year later he wrote the following tribute to his beloved wife: "Mitrocoma Annae belong to the most charming of all the Medusae. It was first observed by me in April 1864 in the Bay of Villafranca near Nice" Its tentacles hung like blonde hair ornaments of a princess" I named this species as a memorial to my unforgettable true wife, Anna Sethe. If I have succeeded, during my earthly pilgrimage in accomplishing something for natural science and humanity, I owe the greatest part to the ennobling influence of this gifted wife." In further tribute, Haeckel produced one of his most beautiful and renowned illustrations.
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Curated by Ann Weissmann, Exhibitions Curator MBLWHOI Library
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