Detail of “Sperm Whale Myoglobin“ by Irving Geis, Showing the Heme Group and Iron Ion

Geis used many artistic tricks to make this complex figure more comprehensible. This included the use of depth cueing and scaling of bonds to enhance the three-dimensionality of the image so that distant portions are lighter, smaller, and less prominent. Each bond is also carefully rendered so that the shading gives visual clues to its orientation in space. In addition, Geis made small adjustments to resolve any unfortunate overlaps—a process he called “selective lying.” The image was originally published in December 1961 to illustrate Sir John Kendrew's Scientific American article “The Three-Dimensional Structure of a Protein.” The painting is now part of the Irving Geis Collection at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.