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Art Forms in Nature: The Prints of Ernst Haeckel Paperback – August 25, 2008

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 848 ratings
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The geometric shapes and natural forms, captured with exceptional precision in Ernst Haeckel's prints, still influence artists and designers to this day. This volume highlights the research and findings of this natural scientist. Powerful modern microscopes have confirmed the accuracy of Haeckel's prints, which even in their day, became world famous. Haeckel's portfolio, first published between 1899 and 1904 in separate installments, is described in the opening essays. The plates illustrate Haeckel's fundamental monistic notion of the "unity of all living things" and the wide variety of forms are executed with utmost delicacy. Incipient microscopic organisms are juxtaposed with highly developed plants and animals. The pages, ordered according to geometric and "constructive" aspects, document the oness of the world in its most diversified forms. This collection of plates was not only well-received by scientists, but by artists and architects as well. Rene Binet, a pioneer of glass and iron constructions, Emile Galle, a renowned Art Nouveau designer, and the photographer Karl Blossfeld all make explicit reference to Haeckel in their work.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    140 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Prestel
  4. Publication date
    August 25, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    9.44 x 0.57 x 11.81 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    3791319906
  7. ISBN-13
    978-3791319902
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Every biology student knows Ernst Haeckel as the originator of the "Biogenetic Law": ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. Haeckel was a passionate student of the evolutionary shaping of biological forms, and Art Forms in Nature captures both his artistic sensibility and the scientific rigor he applied to all his studies. First published in 1904, Art Forms in Nature is a glorification of function and form, a demonstration of organic symmetry that has nothing--and everything--to do with nature as it actually exists. Each plate exhibits organisms carefully arranged and exquisitely detailed, "a symbiosis between decorative sketches and descriptive observations of nature," as Olaf Breidbach states in his fascinating introductory text. The radiolarians, medusae, rotifers, bryozoans, and even frogs and turtles lovingly recreated here are gorgeous and self-explanatory, rendered in delicate, filigreed lines, and colored gently with muted green, delicate pink, and sepia. Art students will appreciate the designs found in nature--scientists will love the evolutionary statement of form inherent in the beauty. --Therese Littleton

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"Art Forms in Nature is a library of possibilities." -CoolTools

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prestel (August 25, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 140 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 3791319906
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-3791319902
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.44 x 0.57 x 11.81 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 848 ratings

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  1. Ernst Haeckel

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  2. Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
848 global ratings
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5 Stars
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Its a really nice book. The illustrations are amazing. Im very happy with the purchase!
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Top reviews from the United States

Cee Gee
5.0 out of 5 stars Science & art come together.
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2022
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This book is a treasure. The drawings are remarkable in their organic complexity and artistic embellishment. Would make some fine framed wall prints in the right environment.
2 people found this helpful
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Phoenicia
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book! Highly recommended.
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2006
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This is such a lovely book, I just HAD to let all you readers know. I didn't know anything about Haeckel (never even heard of the man.....), when I ordered this book. I just loved his drawing of the Medusa on the cover, and couldn't resist buying it, and boy, am I glad that I did..... There is such a quiet beauty in these plates.

The book is also published by Dover (see my review there), without any accompanying text (apart from a short publishers's note), and with all the plates printed in black and white.

In this book, many of the plates are printed 'in color' (either different hues of one color, or a color scheme based on two colors). The book also has a highly informative article on Haeckel and his times, and on those that were influenced by him.

I find it very hard to explain what exactly makes these plates so wonderfully beautiful. It is partly the symmetry of their composition, and the way in which they render the beauty of nature. The article in the book itself describes it very well:

"What is it that Haeckel depicts here that is so beautiful? It is the beauty of ornament. The forms illustrated in these pages seem to fit seamlessly into the repertoire of Art Nouveau forms. [........] Haeckel's approach did not determine Art Nouveau, instead Art Nouveau's approach determined Haeckel's. What ensued was a symbiosis between decorative sketches and descriptive observations of nature [...]."

If you are looking for a book on Haeckel and his plates, get this one!
69 people found this helpful
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J. Colombe
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, brilliant illustrations by an observant gentleman biologist
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2009
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What can I say. The illustrations are amazing, the subject matter is gorgeous, and the illustrator is from a generation of gentlemen (and occasionally, back then, gentlewomen) that made wonderfully detailed artworks as scientists, or as they used to call them, natural philosophers.

If you are curious, and tend toward the psychedelic, the complex, the ramified, and the 'Tiffany-twisted', you will be very happy looking at the pages of this text. If you are an artist of any kind, this book may inspire you. Breathe, nay, suck it in. You won't be disappointed.

However, if you think that 'art' is just a decorative discipline, or that art is something that should always be narrowly 'pretty', you may wish to look elsewhere. There's plenty of pretty here, but some of it is downright biologically-ugly, and by that, I mean gorgeous to me.

Sometimes ugly is pretty. Biology is refined, and crude. Sophisticated, and blunt. Space-age, and extinct. And so on... We will be searching, as natural philosophers, through all that biology has to tell us, long after any of us are dead, to find beauty and ugliness. Waste, rot, carnage. Sustainability, health, wealth, welfare, agreement. And enjoyment.

'nuff said.
7 people found this helpful
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PaxSix
5.0 out of 5 stars A collection from a 19th century master.
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2010
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Ernst Haeckel's illustrations are the epitome of 19th century scientific drawing. The drawings are meticulously detailed and show of the symmetry and geometry of natural forms. The plates of large organisms such as reptiles have a quaint, old-fashioned look, often bordering on ugly - yet interesting! The bulk of my affections goes to the plates of radiolarians and other symmetrical microorganisms: here Haeckel is in his element, revealing the geometric beauty of organisms that we rarely see in life as they are too small or live underwater. They are inspiring for designing patterns and scuptural forms: get this book if you are interested in biology, art history or design!

The plates are well printed, reproducing colour and detail well, while the size is big enough to see the details clearly, while small enough to have a book that can be handled and browsed comfortably.
9 people found this helpful
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Apple
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is flawless
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2012
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The book contains over 100 plates of stunning, crisp artwork by Ernst Häckel. He is amazing. The foreword is informative of his process and the purpose of the book, and gives some insight on how this book helped Darwin in his theories. It's awesome to know that these two greats knew each other.

The book contains images of mostly plants and sea life that demonstrate the geometric patterns in nature. The color is flawless, the pages are thick and sturdy, and each image is amazing. There are no pixelated, poorly blown-up images in this book. If you're an art lover like me, or seek drawing inspiration, this is a book for you! It's a perfect coffee table book.

I wish there were more explanations of the creatures in this book, but even with almost no text, the book stands out!
14 people found this helpful
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Turbo
5.0 out of 5 stars Natures imagination
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2023
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A fascinating book about natural forms.
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EndlessForms
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but not awesome
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2012
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I am a fan of Haeckel's artwork because 1) I am a paleontologist and I like his drawings of fossils, and 2) I like drawing and his art is great for references and inspiration. This book is by no means a complete compilation of Haeckel's work, but it does contain a pretty good range of his art. Most plates are of various invertebrates or plants, with only a few plates of vertebrates so what the book contains is roughly proportional to what he drew the most of. This made me happy because I like invertebrates better than vertebrates (yeah, weird, I know) but it would still be nice if the book came closer to being a complete compilation of his artwork. The book is biggish, so the plates are large and make it suitable as a coffee table book. And if you actually want to read and not just look at pictures there's an intro section with some history on Haeckel as well as a (somewhat inordinately long) section on symmetry in art, biology, history, and human perception.

The only problem: A few of the plates were slightly offset in the printing process so that all the colors/lines don't line up properly. This makes some of them images look blurry, which is quite annoying. For this reason, I give the book 4 stars. I don't know if I got a book from a messed-up printing batch or if they're all this way, but be aware that the alignment may be off on some of the plates.
31 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Patricia Bell
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly beautiful artwork
Reviewed in Canada on June 2, 2023
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I was shocked, amazed, stunned, impressed and wowed with each new page which displayed more incredible etchings of our magnificent world at closer inspection. I could not believe my eyes with the attention to detail. This incredible work that this marine biologist / graphic artist was able to put together in this most amazing book is truly a must have for any upcoming artist, biologist and naturalist.
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Anna of Owlcats
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely to have a printed copy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2023
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I ran into some of Haekel's work on Pinterest originally, and didn't realise it was available in print. This particular edition is a nice large format book and while the colours may be slightly muted on the matte paper, the plates are still gorgeous to look at and quite clear enough for reference, which is why I bought it.
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Ruh
5.0 out of 5 stars Mille meraviglie
Reviewed in Italy on March 11, 2023
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Una splendida edizione per godere del magnifico lavoro di Heckl. Se abbinato ad una lente di ingrandimento, avrete ore ed ore di intrattenimento visivo!!
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Desiree
5.0 out of 5 stars Auténtica obra de arte
Reviewed in Spain on March 14, 2022
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Es increíble como.trata los detalles del Reino animal y vegetal
La paleta de colores es espectacular, son pocos colores pero te embelesa la magia del dibujo. Lo malo es su pasta blanda, lo devalúa mucho. De todas formas yo siempre forro estos libros.
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Abraham Mendez
5.0 out of 5 stars Un libro maravilloso
Reviewed in Mexico on May 8, 2020
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El texto introductorio a las cien ilustraciones en color enriquece el contenido. Una muy bonita edición.
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