Urformen der Kunst
Berlin: Ernst Wasmuth, 1935. Third edition. Hardcover. Folio. xvi, 96 plates. Decorated beige textured cloth with red lettering and vignette on cover, red lettering on spine. Cover drawing by Lucian Zabel. With an introduction by Karl Nierendorf.
A wonderful later edition of Blossfeldt's masterpiece from 1928. Magnificently illustrated with 96 full page duo-tone photographs of work by German botanist and photographer, Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932). "His entire photographic output is devoted to plant parts: twig ends, seed pods, tendrils, leaf buds etc. These he meticulously arranged against stark backgrounds and photographed in magnification, so that unfamiliar shapes from the vegetal worlds are revealed as startling, elegant architectural forms. Since the first publication of his photographs in the late twenties (1928) his work is considered to be one of the aesthetic highlights of photo history."
Originally published in 1928 when Blossfeldt was sixty-three and a professor of applied art at the Berliner Kunsthochschule, "Urformen der Kunst" quickly became an international bestseller and in turn made Blossfeldt famous almost overnight. His contemporaries were enchanted by the abstract shapes and structures in nature that he revealed to the world. In 2001 "Urformen der Kunst" was included in "The Book of 101 Books" as one of the seminal photographic books of the 20th Century. Illustrated with 120 b/w reproductions in photogravure. Each image is approx. 10 1/4 x 7 1/2" on a 12 1/4 x 9 1/2" sheet. Contains list of plates at rear.
Text in German. Binding somewhat bent outward. Block lightly age-toned, not affecting images. Good+ condition. Item #50115
Price: $350.00