Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt (1865, 1932) was a German photographer and sculptor best known for his close-up photographs of plants, seeds, and botanical specimens that revealed extraordinary geometric and architectural forms in nature. Self-taught as a photographer, he used handmade cameras with macro lenses to magnify plant details up to 30 times their natural size, creating images of striking clarity and formal beauty. His landmark 1928 book 'Urformen der Kunst' (Archetypes of Art) was a sensation in the art world and became a foundational reference for Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, and New Objectivity movements.