Karl Blossfeldt. Photographs 1865-1932, Edition Anglaise, Allemande Et Francaise - Couverture souple

Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) first published his photographs of plants in 1928, achieving overnight fame. These images had a direct influence on artists of the time, and continue to affect the work of painters, architects, graphic artists an designers today. By manifoldly enlarging the inner structures of plants, Blossfeldt was able to reveal their organic form. The Surrealists enthused about his photographs, raising the artist to the status of a pioneer of the 'Neue Sachlichkeit' and his pictures to classics in the history of photography. In 1929, just one year alter the first German edition was published, the first English edition appeared, bearing the title Art Forms in Nature. The second book by Blossfeldt, Art Forms in Nature, Second Series, was issued in 1932 simultaneously in German and in English. The present publication combines both works in one edition. Karl Blossfeldt was neither a trained photographer nor a botanist. He was a sculptor who, as a professor of art, was interested in plants for didactic reasons, Blossfeldt wishes to document the structures of plants, their organic configuration, and their consummate artistic forms that arose from biological necessity. His strict photographic style produced images that resemble line drawings and enable ready comparisons. Blossfeldt's aim was to produce a catalogue of forrns that could be placed at the disposai of artists, craftsmen and architects as they conceived their designs. The introductory essay by Gert Mattenklott, professor at Free University, Berlin, and Amherst, Massachusetts, provides insight into the origins of Blossfeldt's work and its subsequent influenced. Also included is the historical article "The Language of Flowers" by Georges Bataille, which first appeared in 1929 and was illustrated with five photographs by Blossfeldt. Bataille uscd them to support his theory of plants as entities that are rooted in the earth and yet seek light, occupying a space between profanity and sanctity.

Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) photographed thousands of plants; these are almost never seen from above, but rather from the side, and against a neutral background. This book featuers these images of plants.