At first intended as personal reference material in his work as sculptor and teacher, the remarkable nature photographs of Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) attained critical acclaim in 1928 when he published Urformen der Kunst (Archetypes of Art). His work influenced and helped to establish modern German photography. While the style of the time was soft-focus, impressionistic photographs, Blossfeldt's purpose governed his photographic method and resulting magnificent prints: direct lighting to define form, sharp focus to expose detail and texture, enlarging up to 27 times actual size to...