How Karl Blossfeldt’s plant photographs were disseminated in the popular media of the time, from pattern books to magazine spreads
In the 1890s, the Berlin artist, sculptor and teacher Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) started to photograph plants, seeds and other illustrative material from nature for the purpose of teaching his students about the patterns and designs found in natural forms. His close-ups of the smallest plant parts, magnified up to 30 times their natural size, startle us as they dramatically highlight the geometrical and sculptural properties of plants. Published in 1928, his first collection of photographs, Urformen der Kunst (later translated into English as Art Forms in Nature) became an international bestseller and remains one of the most significant photobooks of the 20th century.
Karl Blossfeldt: Variations is the first monograph to examine the reception of Blossfeldt’s work. Drawing on unpublished materials, it analyzes the photographs’ replication in teaching materials, pattern books, art books and in the pages of the illustrated press. The six sections of the book trace the paths that Blossfeldt’s legendary plant motifs took in their incarnations as specimens, illustrations, patterns, analogues, models and abstractions from 1890 to 1945. Thematic contemporary appraisals illustrating the rediscovery of Blossfeldt's motifs in design and architecture over the past 20 years complement this new perspective on the beloved German photographer.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Karl Blossfeldt: Variations.'
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Ulrike Meyer Stump
A truly compelling excursion through the history of decorative and fine art
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Featured image is reproduced from Karl Blossfeldt: Variations, Lars Müller Publishers' 416-page new release investigating how the Berlin artist, sculptor and teacher's turn-of-the-century plant photographs were disseminated in the popular media of the time, from magazines, to art and pattern books. "In the late 1920s a German book of plant photographs with the suggestive title Urformen der Kunst became an international bestseller," author Ulrike Meyer Stump writes. "Albert Einstein owned a copy, as did Kandinsky, Klee, Calder and Henry Moore. The producer of these highly successful botanical images, Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932), trained as a sculptor and taught “Modeling after Living Plants” at the School of Applied Arts in Berlin from 1899 to 1930. He began photographing plants in the late nineteenth century as illustrations, patterns, and as teaching material for his classes, producing thousands of photographs in a highly uniform manner over the decades. A handsome selection from this voluminous material elegantly printed in photogravure was published in 1928, shortly before his retirement. With this publication, which was followed by countless new editions over the years, Blossfeldt the sculptor became world-famous as a photographer… This book traces the paths that Blossfeldt’s legendary plant motifs described—as specimens, illustrations, patterns, analogies, models, and abstractions—from their creation to their entry into the canonical history of photography, with occasional excursions into their reception in more recent art and design." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 6.5 x 9.5 in. / 512 pgs / 100 color / 100 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $50.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $70 ISBN: 9783037786369 PUBLISHER: Lars Müller Publishers AVAILABLE: 2/2/2021 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA
Published by Lars Müller Publishers. Text by Ulrike Meyer Stump.
How Karl Blossfeldt’s plant photographs were disseminated in the popular media of the time, from pattern books to magazine spreads
In the 1890s, the Berlin artist, sculptor and teacher Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) started to photograph plants, seeds and other illustrative material from nature for the purpose of teaching his students about the patterns and designs found in natural forms. His close-ups of the smallest plant parts, magnified up to 30 times their natural size, startle us as they dramatically highlight the geometrical and sculptural properties of plants. Published in 1928, his first collection of photographs, Urformen der Kunst (later translated into English as Art Forms in Nature) became an international bestseller and remains one of the most significant photobooks of the 20th century.
Karl Blossfeldt: Variations is the first monograph to examine the reception of Blossfeldt’s work. Drawing on unpublished materials, it analyzes the photographs’ replication in teaching materials, pattern books, art books and in the pages of the illustrated press. The six sections of the book trace the paths that Blossfeldt’s legendary plant motifs took in their incarnations as specimens, illustrations, patterns, analogues, models and abstractions from 1890 to 1945. Thematic contemporary appraisals illustrating the rediscovery of Blossfeldt's motifs in design and architecture over the past 20 years complement this new perspective on the beloved German photographer.
