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Kunstformen der Natur

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Or in English called Art Forms of Nature. is a Lithography book by a German biologist, Ernst Haeckel.

Lithography comes from ancient Greek which means “Writing with Stone”, By definition, lithography is the process of printing (print) from a flat surface that is made in such a way that it can eliminate ink except on the part that will be used as a print.

It was originally published in ten sets between 1899 and 1904.
And collectively in two volumes in 1904, consisting of 100 prints of various organisms.
Over the course of his career, more than 1,000 gravels were produced based on Haeckel’s sketches and watercolors; the best images were selected to be printed in the Kunstformen der Natur, translated from sketches to print by lithographer Adolf Giltsch.
The second edition of Kunstformen, containing only 30 prints, was produced in 1924.
(wikipedia)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kunstformen_der_Natur

8th printing, Discomedusae. The center and bottom-center of the image is Desmonema annasethe; the tentacles remind Haeckel of his wife’s hair.

According to Haeckel scholar Olaf Breidbach (editor of the modern edition of Kunstformen), the work is “not only a book of illustrations but also the sum total of his view of the world.”
Kunstformen der Natur influenced early 20th century art, architecture and design.
Bridging the gap between science and art.

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