Board_Advisors_etc 3..5

Moritz Meurer and his assistants not only col-
lected, drew, and cast botanical specimen in Rome
and its outlying regions, but also systematically
photographed plants. Shoots were removed from
stems, roots cut back and, if necessary, buds
opened. The plant types were stuck on a support,
mounted before a uniform background, and ex-
posed. In the history of photography the adoption
of this method with its roots in painting was a
tradition in itself. The first publication of the project
was dedicated to a single plant—acanthus (cow-
parsnip)—and its influence on ancient art; two of
its photographs bear Blossfeldt’s name. They show
the leaf and stem of the acanthus with the character-
istic pointed tips and crenature on the head, pic-
tured before a grey background. When the book
was published in 1896, Moritz Meurer returned to
Berlin and left Blossfeldt without subsidy.
For a time Karl Blossfeldt went through a phase
of reorientation, undecided whether to stay in Italy,
emigrate to the United States, or assume employ-
ment in the German arts and crafts industry. In the
end, he chose a position as an assistant teacher for
modeling from plants at the Kunstgewerbeschule in
Berlin. In 1899 he was elevated to the post of lec-
turer. Blossfeldt’s task in his beginners’ classes was
essentially that of demonstrating that the best con-
structions for industrial designs had already been
anticipated in nature. So he did, with nearly no
change and development until his dismissal in
1930—and as steady as his teaching method was
his use of the camera.
In 1925, the Berlin gallerist Karl Nierendorf recog-
nized Karl Blossfeldt and his plant photographs. He
immediately realized their similarity to 1920s’ avant-
garde art, asked Blossfeldt to print a larger number
of exhibition photographs, and subsequently pre-
pared their publication in a book. It appeared under
the titleUrformen der Kunst(Basic Forms of Art) in
1926, with a second issue within one year, and was
translated into several languages. The great photo-
graphic exhibition of 1929,Film und Fotoin Stutt-
gart, showed his work with the greatest respect
possible. After 1930 there was scarcely a major
photo exhibition and nearly no important annual
without Blossfeldt’s images. In the autumn of 1930,
Karl Blossfeldt had reached retirement age and gave
up teaching in order to devote himself to the evalua-
tion of his plant archives. His second book of photo-
graphs,Wundergarten der Natur(Nature’s Wonderful
Garden), was published in the spring of 1932. On
December 3, 1932, Karl Blossfeldt died in Berlin.

ROLFSachsse

Seealso: Photography in Europe: Germany and

Austria

Biography

Born in Schielo, Harz Mountains, Central Germany, June

13, 1865. Apprenticeship as a caster in an art foundry of

ironworks at Maegdesprung, Selke Valley, and private

music lessons, 1881–1984. Scholarship for drawing

courses at the Berlin school for arts and crafts, continued

music lessons, 1884–1986. Work as an art caster in Ber-

lin, 1886–1989. Assistant to Moritz Meurer on a design

commission for the Prussian Ministry of Trade in Rome,

1890–1997. Assistant to the Director of the Berlin school

of arts and crafts, 1898. Lecturer for drawing after nat-

ure, 1899–1920, Professor for drawing after nature at the

Berlin school for arts and crafts, 1921–1930. As Profes-

sor emeritus, work on a theory of drawing after nature

and rearranging his photographic material, 1930–1932.

Died in Berlin, 3 December 1932.

Individual Exhibitions

1926 Karl Blossfeldt, Urformen der Kunst, Galerie Nieren-

dorf, Berlin, Germany

1976 Karl Blossfeldt, Fotografien 1900–1932, Rheinisches

Landesmuseum, Bonn, Germany

1994 Karl Blossfeldt, Sta ̈dtisches Kunstmuseum, Bonn,

Germany, and traveling

1999 Karl Blossfeldt, Akademie der Ku ̈nste, Berlin, Germany,

and traveling through Germany, Switzerland, and Austria

Group Exhibitions

1929 Film und Foto; Internationale Ausstellung des

Deutschen Werkbundes, Stuttgart, Germany, and tra-

veling through Germany, Switzerland, and Austria

1977 Documenta VI, Kassel, Germany

1993 Pantheon der Fotografie des 20; Jahrhunderts,

Kunsthalle der Bundesrepublik, Bonn, Germany

1997 Deutsche Fotografie, Macht eines Mediums 1870–1970,

Kunsthalle der Bundesrepublik, Bonn, Germany

1999 Karl Blossfeldt, Silvie + Che`rif Defraoui; Pflanzenbilder,

Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum, Duisburg, Germany

2000 Die Sprache der Pflanzen; Kunsthalle, Erfurt, Ger-

many

2000 Die Natur der Dinge; Kunstforum NRW, Duesseldorf,

Germany

2001 Karl Blossfeldt and Natascha Borowsky; SK-Stiftung,

Cologne, Germany

Selected Works

Equisetum hyemale, n.d.

Impatiens glandulifera, n.d.

Dipsacus laciniatus, n.d.

Cucurbita, n.d.

Adiantum pedatum, n.d.

Aristolochia clematitis, n.d.

Laserpitum siler, n.d.

Blumenbachia hieronymi (Loasaceae), n.d.

BLOSSFELDT, KARL