Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt (June 13, 1865 – December 9, 1932) was a German photographer who worked in our hometown of  Berlin, Germany.

He is best known for his close-up photographs of plants and living things, published in 1929 as Urformen der Kunst.  He was inspired, as was his father, by nature and the ways in which plants grow. He believed that "the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure."

In Berlin from the late nineteenth century until his death, Blossfeldt's works were primarily used as teaching tools and were brought to public attention in 1928 by his first publication Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature). Published in 1928 when Blossfeldt was 63 and a professor of applied art at the Vereinigte Staatsschulen für freie und angewandte Kunst, Urformen der Kunst quickly became an international bestseller and in turn, made Blossfeldt famous almost overnight.

His beautiful photographs of plants, flowers and seed heads are just as unique today as when they first appeared in Urformen der Kunst, (Archetypal Forms of Art), 1928 and Wundergarten der Natur, (The Wondergarden of Nature), 1932.

Our new collection from this pioneer in plant photography will make a delightful addition to your home decor.