Karl Blossfeldt, Heliogravure On Paper, *wunder In Der Natur*, 1942, Plate No. 17

Photogravure on paper, published by : H Schmidt & C. Günter Pantheon Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, Leipzig 1942.

Original photogravure from the 1942 edition of Wunder in der Natur.

Dimensions (approx.): 31 × 24 cm (12.2 × 9.4 in.)

Condition: very good; Please look carefully, as some prints, on rare occasions, present tears or stains in the margins.  They might differ from one another in terms of paper shade.

Carefully packaged and shipped flat.

Blossfeldt’s photographs — originally created for teaching purposes at the Berlin School of Arts and Crafts — are now considered milestones of 20th-century photographic modernism, admired for their precision and sculptural clarity.

Karl Blossfeldt was a German teacher, sculptor, and photographer, best known for his striking close-up photographs of plants and flowers.

In 1928, he published the now-legendary photographic book Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature), followed by Wundergarten der Natur in 1932 and Wunder in der Natur in 1942. These volumes gathered an extraordinary selection of plant images that Blossfeldt had originally photographed as teaching material for his students at the Berlin School of Arts and Crafts.

Using a neutral background and magnifying his subjects — buds, stems, blossoms, and seed pods — he sought to reveal the inherent structure, rhythm, and harmony of organic forms. His images were intended as models for design and ornamentation, bridging art, nature, and craftsmanship.

Blossfeldt’s work is celebrated for its timeless clarity and formal precision. His isolated, monumental treatment of natural motifs aligned with the aesthetics of Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) and was later interpreted as a precursor to modern conceptual art. Today, his photographs continue to fascinate viewers and inspire artists, designers, and architects around the world.