Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel

Ernst Haeckel was a German-born biologist, naturalist, evolutionist, artist, philosopher, and doctor who spent his life researching flora and fauna from the highest mountaintops to the deepest ocean. He denounced religious dogma, authored philosophical treatises, gained a doctorate in zoology, and coined scientific terms which have passed into common usage. His work was remarkable for its graphic precision and meticulous shading, and he emphasized the essential symmetries and order of nature, finding biological beauty in even the most unlikely of creatures. This book celebrates the scientific, artistic, and environmental importance of Haeckel's work, with a collection of 450 of his finest prints from several of his most important tomes.

Format: Hardback
Length: 704 pages
Publication date: 23 September 2020
Publisher: Taschen GmbH

Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919) was a German-born biologist, naturalist, evolutionist, artist, philosopher, and doctor who dedicated his life to researching flora and fauna from the highest mountaintops to the deepest ocean. A passionate advocate and proponent of Darwin's theories of evolution, he rejected religious dogma, wrote philosophical treatises, earned a doctorate in zoology, and coined scientific terms that have become commonplace, including ecology, phylum, and stem cell. At the core of Haeckel's remarkable legacy was the dual motivation to discover and explain. To achieve this, he produced hundreds of detailed drawings, watercolors, and sketches of his findings, which he published in successive volumes, including several marine organism collections and the magnificent Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms in Nature), which could serve as the cornerstone of Haeckel's entire life project. Like a meticulous visual encyclopedia of living things, Haeckel's work was remarkable for its graphic precision and meticulous shading as well as its understanding of organic evolution. From bats to box jellyfish, lizards to lichen, and spider legs to sea anemones, Haeckel emphasized the essential symmetries and order of nature and found biological beauty in even the most unlikely of creatures. In this book, we celebrate the scientific, artistic, and environmental importance of Haeckel's work, with a collection of 450 of his finest prints from several of his most important tomes, including Die Radiolarien, Monographie der Medusen, Die Kalkschwämme, and Kunstformen der Natur. At a time when biodiversity is increasingly threatened by human activities, the book is at once a visual masterwork, an underwater exploration, and a vivid reminder of the precious variety of life on Earth.

Weight: 7014g
Dimension: 430 x 340 x 80 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783836526463