Although historically there has been a lot of division between science and art, the two are extremely connected and both benefit each other tremendously. This argument was explored and supported through the work of the Accademia dei Lincei who used art to further scientific discoveries and attempt to find a way to classify living things. In the picture above, the stages of growth of a water lily flower are depicted through multiple images and although this does not seem like much to a 21st century viewer, for the time it was groundbreaking. To be able to illustrate something from nature and then show it to someone who recognizes the exact specimen that has been depicted via art was so helpful for scientists back in the day. Although the argument was used that words are much more helpful than art ever can be, it has no merit because being able to visually see all elements come together can aid in an understanding that words will never achieve. You can describe physical features of something to someone, but at the end of the day it is easier to understand when it is right in front of them.
The fact that when the Paper museum images were found, they were thought to be from the 19th century as opposed to their original creation in the 17th century, really shows how groundbreaking these drawings were. To be able to pay incredible attention to detail and texture so that the images are extremely realistic was so helpful for scientists to be able to then go back and classify the specimens. Furthermore, with the invention of the microscope and illustrating the entire micro-world of different specimens, scientists could then use the art that was created to look for similarities and differences. This is much easier than having to sort through pages and pages of text that describe different things because they were able to just compare realistic pictures and spot these similarities and differences immediately. Overall, while science and art go back and forth in the battle for importance, they both benefit each other to the point where one would not have been able to get this far without the other.