Where is Karl Blossfeldt from?
Schielo, GermanyKarl Blossfeldt / Place of birth
– Karl Blossfeldt was born in the village of Schielo in the Harz mountains, Germany in 1865. From 1881 he studied sculpture at the Unterrichtsanstalt des Königlichen Kunstgewerbemuseums, which later became the Vereinigte Staatsschulen für Freie und Angewandte Kunst and is now known as Berlin University of the Arts.
Where and when was Blossfeldt born and brought up?
Karl Blossfeldt, (born June 13, 1865, Schielo, Germany—died December 9, 1932, Berlin), German photographer known best for his stark close-up portraits of plants, twigs, seeds, leaves, and other flora.
What did Karl Blossfeldt believe?
Blossfeldt believed that in nature one finds the foundation of all forms and thus he photographed plants for over thirty years, publishing a book of photographs called Urformen der Kunst (Fundamental Forms of Art) in 1928 that was an immediate success.
What was Karl Blossfeldt known for?
Karl Blossfeldt is best known for his precise photographs of plants; however, he began his career as a sculptor, completing apprenticeships at the ironworks and foundry in Mägdesprung and the Kunstgewerbeschule (Institute of the royal arts museum) in Berlin from 1884 to 1890.
When was Karl Blossfeldt born?
June 13, 1865Karl Blossfeldt / Date of birth
Why did Karl Blossfeldt take photos?
In preparing and photographing his specimens, Blossfeldt’s primary goal was to reveal the essential form of each plant. Like many other artists at the time he felt that nature was the ultimate source of aesthetic form and the best resource for artists searching for interesting and beautiful shapes.
Why are Karl Blossfeldt photos black and white?
In 1899, after teaching himself photography, he created a series of homemade cameras that he used to photograph plants collected on his travels. These majestic plant portraits, shot in black and white, were used as aids to teach the students about the beauty of nature seen through his intimate view of flora.
Why did Karl Blossfeldt use black and white?
What flowers did Karl Blossfeldt use?
Karl Blossfeldt, Impatiens glandulifera, Himalayan balsam, leaf nodes (courtesy D.A.P.)
How did Karl Blossfeldt become famous?
Published in 1929 when Blossfeldt was 63 and a professor of applied art at the Vereinigte Staatsschulen für freie und angewandte Kunst, Urformen der Kunst quickly became an international bestseller and in turn, made Blossfeldt famous almost overnight.
When did Karl Blossfeldt move to Berlin?
In 1881, Blossfeldt moved to Berlin to study ornamental design at the Royal School of the Museum of Decorative Arts. Despite having never trained as a photographer, he began making his own cameras and fitting them with magnifying lenses.
What techniques did Blossfeldt use to capture his images?
He taught himself techniques such as lighting the specimens to clearly reveal their three-dimensional form and painting on his glass plate negatives to eliminate distracting shadows. He even modified his bulky studio camera so that it could take detailed images enlarged as much as 30X.
What lens did Karl Blossfeldt use?
From existing documentation we know that he made at least some of his negatives in soft daylight so he could better capture the details of his plant specimens in an even tone, using an Aplanat 1:36, F=50-cm lens and an exposure time of eight to twelve minutes.
What techniques did blossfeldt use to capture his images?
Did Karl Blossfeldt make his own camera?
Karl Blossfeldt was one of the first photographers to build his own unique camera, which was made of wood and had one metre long bellows. In the 1930s the photographs he produced with it were just as unique as the homemade contraption itself.