Karl Blossfeldt
				German, 1865-1932
		Website about the artist: no website
			Introduction
			Influenced by the 19th century German tradition of natural philosophy, Karl Blossfeldt believed that "the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure." Combining training as a craftsman with an academic art education, Blossfeldt made thousands of enlargements of details of plant forms in an attempt to reveal the fundamental structures of the natural world and their relation to artistic form. Over a period of 30 years, he photographed leaves, seed pods, stems, and other plant parts, frontally or from above, against neutral white or grey backgrounds in weak daylight, much as though he were photographing architectural details. His black-and-white, sharp-focus descriptions appear semi-abstract to the viewer unfamiliar with his subjects, despite his avowed intentions. Blossfeldt's book of 96 enlargements of plant forms, Urformen der Kunst (Archetypes of Art [1928]), became a landmark of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), as did his Wundergarten der Natur (Magic Garden of Nature [19321). Blossfeldt was born in Schielo, Harz, Germany, and educated in Harzgerode from 1871 to 1881. From 1882 to 1884 he was a sculptor's apprentice and modeler at the Art Ironworks and Foundry in Magdesprung. He studied painting and sculpture on a scholarship at the School of the Royal Museum of Arts and Crafts in Berlin from 1884 to 1891. On another scholarship from 1891 to 1896, he worked under Professor Meurer in Italy, Greece, and North Africa collecting plant specimens. Blossfeldt began photographing in 1890 and pursued musical studies during these years as well. Blossfeldt began to photograph plant forms with a camera of his own making in 1899 in Berlin. His systematic documentation commenced the following year. This work was used as part of his teaching at the Kunstgewerbemuseum School where, from 1898 to 1931 he was an instructor, assistant professor, and professor, successively, in the sculpture of living plants. Throughout his career, Blossfeldt continued to travel, particularly in the Mediterranean, collecting specimens of foreign plants. He retired in 1931. Prints from Blossfeldt's original plates were first published in 1975.