Who is Karl Blossfeldt?

Who is Karl Blossfeldt?

Blossfeldt (1865-1932) was a pioneering German photographer who came to prominence in the 1920s. A trained sculptor, draughtsman and teacher, he created exquisitely beautiful, close-up photographs of plants.

What is Karl Blossfeldt known for?

Karl Blossfeldt is best known for his precise photographs of plants; however, he began his career as a sculptor, completing apprenticeships at the ironworks and foundry in Mägdesprung and the Kunstgewerbeschule (Institute of the royal arts museum) in Berlin from 1884 to 1890.

Where is Karl Blossfeldt from?

Schielo, GermanyKarl Blossfeldt / Place of birthSchielo is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 August 2009, it is part of the town of Harzgerode. Basket weaving was common until in the early 20th century logging took over. Wikipedia

When was Karl Blossfeldt dead?

December 9, 1932Karl Blossfeldt / Date of death

Karl Blossfeldt, (born June 13, 1865, Schielo, Germany—died December 9, 1932, Berlin), German photographer known best for his stark close-up portraits of plants, twigs, seeds, leaves, and other flora.

How old is Karl Blossfeldt?

67 years (1865–1932)Karl Blossfeldt / Age at death

Did Karl Blossfeldt get married?

#3 In 1898, Blossfeldt married Maria Plank but their marriage lasted for only twelve years and they got divorced in 1910. Two years later he married again, this time to opera singer Helene Eminem, with whom he stayed till the end of his life.

What did Karl Blossfeldt believe?

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.”

How does Karl Blossfeldt create his work?

Karl Blossfeldt originally made detailed photographs of plant specimens as teaching tools for his applied art students, building his own camera to magnify the sculptural qualities of seedpods, pumpkin tendrils, and horsetail shoots at up to 45 times their size.

Where did Karl Blossfeldt go to school?

Unterrichtsanstalt des Kunstgewerbemuseums BerlinKarl Blossfeldt / Education

What lens did Karl Blossfeldt use?

From existing documentation we know that he made at least some of his negatives in soft daylight so he could better capture the details of his plant specimens in an even tone, using an Aplanat 1:36, F=50-cm lens and an exposure time of eight to twelve minutes.

Why did Karl Blossfeldt make his work?

Blossfeldt wanted his work to act as a teaching aid and inspiration for architects, sculptors and artists. It was his firm belief that only through the close study of the intrinsic beauty present in natural forms, that contemporary art would find its true direction.

Why did Karl Blossfeldt create his natural forms photographs?

In preparing and photographing his specimens, Blossfeldt’s primary goal was to reveal the essential form of each plant. Like many other artists at the time he felt that nature was the ultimate source of aesthetic form and the best resource for artists searching for interesting and beautiful shapes.

Karl Blossfeldt (June 13, 1865 – December 9, 1932) was a German photographer, sculptor, teacher, and artist who worked in Berlin, Germany.

What did Wilhelm Blossfeldt do for a living?

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 1929 by his first publication Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature).

When did Wilhelm Blossfeldt publish wundergarten der Natur?

Following the enormous success of the book, Blossfeldt published a second volume of his plant pictures, titled Wundergarten der Natur (The magic garden of nature), in 1932.

What was the first edition of blossdeldt’s monograph?

His pictures achieved notoriety among the artistic avant-garde with the support of gallerist Karl Nierendorf, who mounted a solo show of the pictures paired with African sculptures at his gallery in 1926 and, subsequently, produced the first edition of Blossdeldt’s monograph Urformen der Kunst (Art forms in nature), in 1928.