Ernst Haeckel Prints — Kunstformen der Natur
Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (1904) — the jellyfish, radiolaria, nudibranchs and siphonophores whose hypnotic symmetry helped define Art Nouveau.
42 prints · printed to order on heavyweight matte paper · framed or unframed
Kunstformen der Natur
Ernst Haeckel, a German biologist and an artist of rare ability, published Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms in Nature) in instalments between 1899 and 1904: one hundred plates of jellyfish, radiolarians, sea anemones, bats and orchids arranged with a symmetry so strict that the plates helped shape Art Nouveau. The lithographs were drawn by Adolf Giltsch from Haeckel's sketches.
Where they hang best
The marine plates, with their dark grounds and luminous forms, are the most popular for bathrooms and bedrooms; the radiolarians and diatoms, drawn like architecture, suit studies and offices. Haeckel's own numbering is kept on each plate, so a set can be hung in sequence.