With many drawings on each plate, each carefully drawn from nature, the subtle details of nature's art forms are easily compared and appreciated. Haeckel recognized beauty in every aspect of nature, even the ones who could be perceived as scary or insignificant. Kunstformen der Natur was influential in early 20th-century art, architecture, and design, bridging the gap between science and art. At the wish of his father he began to practise as a doctor in that city, but his patients were few in number, one reason being that he did not wish them to be many, and after a short time he turned to more congenial pursuits. In every bit of moss and blade of grass, in every beetle and butterfly, we find, when we examine it carefully, beauties which are usually overlooked.

This collection of plates was not only well-received by scientists, but by artists and architects as well. The introductory section is detailed and well-written (for an older audience than my son, of course) but Haeckel's images speak clearly without the need for explanation. His work occupies a unique position in history, lying in the interface between zoology, Darwinism, philosophy and art. The Kunstformen contains 100 beautiful lithographic plates which show a multitude of unusual life forms: Radiolaria, Foraminifera, and other forms of microscopic life; jellyfishes, starfishes, calcareous sponges, star corals, barnacles, and other sea life; mosses, lichens, red algae, ferns, fungi, orchids, and other plants; and turtles, moths, spiders, bats, frogs, lizards, hummingbirds, and antelope.

The introductory essays provided good background material as well, although it would have been nice to hear more of Haeckel's own voice.

He regarded the human soul with its inborn characteristics of reason as a ready-made being and did not inquire into its historical origins . In 1861, at the instance of Carl Gegenbaur, he became Privatdozent at Jena; in the succeeding year he was chosen extraordinary professor of comparative anatomy and director of the Zoological Institute in the same university; in 1865 he was appointed to a chair of zoology which was specially established for his benefit. In our collection, we honour Haeckel’s achievements with images such as ‘Actiniae’ (sea anemones), ‘Sea Snails’ and ‘Jellyfish Species’. 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. This last position he retained for 43 years, in spite of repeated invitations to migrate to more important centres, such as Strassburg or Vienna, and at Jena he spent his life, with the exception of the time he devoted to travelling in various parts of the world, whence in every case he brought back a rich zoological harvest.Marine Biological Laboratory Library - An exhibition of material on Haeckel, including background on many Kunstformen der Natur plates. Haeckel's incredible energy, his drive for a thorough worldview, his meticulousness, is BEYOND IMPRESSIVE. Purely speculative metaphysics, which were further developed from theories of apriorism established by Kant and which found its most radical advocate in Hegel, ultimately led to the utter rejection of empiricism and claimed that all knowledge is in fact acquired through pure reason, independent of all experience. 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.

It happened that just when he was beginning his scientific career Darwin’s Origin of Species was published (1859), and such was the influence it exercised over him that he became the apostle of Darwinism in Germany. There's at least one free digital version and if you insist on a paper copy get something like the Prestel edition so you get the color plates. René Binet, a pioneer of glass and iron constructions, Emile Gallé, a renowned Art Nouveau designer, and the photographer Karl Blossfeld all acknowledge and make explicit reference to Haeckel in their work. He studied medicine and science at Würzburg, Berlin and Vienna, having for his masters such men as Johannes Müller, R. However, the wonderful ability to make a priori judgements has arisen through the inheritance of cerebral structures, which the vertebrate ancestors of humans acquired slowly and in stages (through adaptation and synthetic association of a posteriori experiences and perceptions).I got the Prestel edition, and it has a nice mix of full-color and black and white plates (illustrations). I'd never heard of Ernst Haeckel until I read about Rorschach's inkblot tests (that is the great beauty of reading: books beget books). In this book, adopting an uncompromising monistic attitude, he asserted the essential unity of organic and inorganic nature. Featuring intricate depictions of various land and sea life, this volume serves a scientific purpose while boasting exceptional aesthetic beauty. Cnidaria also feature prominently throughout the book, including sea anemones as well as Siphonophorae, Semaeostomeae, and other medusae.