Kunstformen der Natur is a book of lithographic

Lithography

Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

 and autotype

Autotype

Autotype is a function in some computer applications or programs, typically those containing forms, which fills in a field once you have typed in the first few letters...

 prints by German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 biologist Ernst Haeckel

Ernst Haeckel

The "European War" became known as "The Great War", and it was not until 1920, in the book "The First World War 1914-1918" by Charles à Court Repington, that the term "First World War" was used as the official name for the conflict.-Research:...

. Originally published in sets of ten between 1899 and 1904 and as a complete volume in 1904, it consists of 100 prints of various organisms, many of which were first described by Haeckel himself. Over the course of his career, over 1000 engraving

Engraving

Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...

s were produced based on Haeckel's sketch

Sketch (drawing)

A sketch is a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended as a finished work...

es and watercolors; many of the best of these were chosen for Kunstformen der Natur, translated from sketch to print by lithographer Adolf Giltsch.

According to Haeckel scholar Olaf Breidbach (the editor of modern editions of Kunstformen), the work was "not just a book of illustrations but also the summation of his view of the world." The over-riding themes of the Kunstformen plates are symmetry and organization. The subjects were selected to embody organization, from the scale patterns of boxfish

Boxfish

Ostraciidae is a family of squared, bony fish belonging to the order Tetraodontiformes, closely related to the pufferfishes and filefishes. Fish in the family are known variously as boxfishes, cofferfishes, cowfishes and trunkfishes...

es to the spirals of ammonite

Ammonite

Ammonite, as a zoological or paleontological term, refers to any member of the Ammonoidea an extinct subclass within the Molluscan class Cephalopoda which are more closely related to living coleoids Ammonite, as a zoological or paleontological term, refers to any member of the Ammonoidea an extinct...

s to the perfect symmetries of jellies and microorganisms, while images composing each plate are arranged for maximum visual impact.

Among the notable prints are numerous radiolarian

Radiolarian

Radiolarians are amoeboid protozoa that produce intricate mineral skeletons, typically with a central capsule dividing the cell into inner and outer portions, called endoplasm and ectoplasm. They are found as zooplankton throughout the ocean, and their skeletal remains cover large portions of the...

s, which Haeckel helped to popularize among amateur microscopists; at least one example is found in almost every set of 10. Cnidaria

Cnidaria

Cnidaria is a phylum containing over 9,000 species of animals found exclusively in aquatic and mostly marine environments. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance,...

 also feature prominently throughout the book, including sea anemones as well as Siphonophorae, Semaeostomeae

Semaeostomeae

Semaeostomeae is an order of large jellyfish characterized by four long, frilly oral arms flanking their quadrate mouths. The umbrella is domed with scalloped margins, and the gastrovascular system consists of four unbranched pouches radiating outwards from the central stomach; there is no ring...

, and other medusae

Medusa (biology)

In biology, a medusa is a form of cnidarian in which the body is shaped like an umbrella, in contrast with polyps. Medusae vary from bell-shaped to the shape of a thin disk, scarcely convex above and only slightly concave below...

. The first set included Desmonema annasethe (now Cyanea

Cyanea (jellyfish)

Cyanea is a cosmopolitan genus of stinging jellyfish, primarily found in northern waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The same genus name has been given to a genus of plants of the Hawaiian lobelioids, an example of a parahomonym .-Species:The taxonomy of Cyanea species is not fully agreed...

 annasethe), a particularly stunning jellyfish

Jellyfish

Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...

 that Haeckel observed and described shortly after the death of his wife Anna Sethe.

Kunstformen der Natur was influential in early 20th century art, architecture, and design, bridging the gap between science and art. In particular, many artists associated with Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...

 were influenced by Haeckel's images, including René Binet, Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt was a German photographer, sculptor, teacher and artist who worked in Berlin, Germany. He is best known for his close-up photographs of plants and living things. He was inspired, as was his father, by nature and the way in which plants grow...

, Hans Christiansen, and Émile Gallé

Émile Gallé

Émile Gallé was a French artist who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major forces in the French Art Nouveau movement.- Biography :...

. One prominent example is the Amsterdam Commodities Exchange

Beurs van Berlage

The Beurs van Berlage is a building on the Damrak, in the center of Amsterdam. It was designed as a commodity exchange by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage and constructed between 1896 and 1903. It influenced many modernist architects, in particular functionalists and the Amsterdam School...

 designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage

Hendrik Petrus Berlage

thumb|120px|left|BerlageHendrik Petrus Berlage, Amsterdam, 21 February 1856 — The Hague 12 August 1934, was a prominent Dutch architect.-Overview:...

, which was in part inspired by Kunstformen illustrations.

A second edition of Kunstformen, containing only 30 of the prints, was produced in 1924.

External links

• Marine Biological Laboratory Library - An exhibition of material on Haeckel, including background on many Kunsformen der Natur plates.
• University Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth - An Ernst Haeckel exhibition from 2005 pairing prints from Kunstformen der Natur with modern sculptures.
• Kurt Stüber's Biolib - An online version of Kunstformen der Natur with 300 dpi scans of the 100 plates, their scheme plates, the accompanying description, table of contents and supplement pages.
• Ernst Haeckel's 'Kunstformen der Natur' as zoomable images - One hundred plates of "Kunstformen der Natur" (requires flash).