Art Forms in Nature (Dover Pictorial Archive)

Form and Beauty Depicting the Wonder of Nature This edition includes a visual index of the plates. With its meticulous color illustrations of exquisite life forms, Ernst Haeckel's renderings are still considered accurate--after more than a century. Art Forms in Nature perfectly marries art and science. Haeckel, although a prolific biologist, chose here to report only the visual information, with no written essays. Nature, in his own words, embodies "a sense of the beautiful." First published at the turn of the last century, this book was something of a status symbol, indicating the level of education and sophistication of the families whose homes it graced. Exhibiting the aesthetic sensibilities of the Art Nouveau period, Haeckel's work had a profound influence on many of the prominent artists of that time. Each page is composed of single family of plant or animal matter, depicted without a setting, and identified only by their Latin classification. Unpretentiously celebrating the similarities and subtle variations within each classification, the forms speak for themselves. Whether viewing a group of ammonites, jellyfish, or antelope, this dramatic display of the myriad forms of life make every page a wonderful discovery . This graphic tour de force will be treasured by readers of all ages. This book is also available from Echo Point Books as a hardcover (ISBN 164837185X).