Product Description

At the nexus of art and science, this dazzling new edition of Ernst Haeckel’s first work reintroduces the genius of an enigmatic scientist and passionate observer of the natural world.

Although original editions of this book are extremely rare, it is now available for the first time in paperback, beautifully reproducing his drawings and watercolors. While the variety and detail of Haeckel’s drawings display an impressive understanding of biological structure, the skill with which Haeckel drew these tiny aquatic protozoa renders them genuine works of art. This volume features commentary and descriptions of each of the radiolarians from Haeckel’s work.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20033 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9783791333274
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"A remarkable array of the artist’s exquisitely detailed representations of microscopic aquatic life. Compellingly seductive." -- Art Times, July 2005

"These otherwordly organisms are beautifully reproduced here, making this volume a work of natural history and a work of art." -- Northeastern Naturalist, December 2006

About the Author
Olaf Breidbach is the head of the Ernst Haeckel Haus in Jena, Germany, which is also the Institute for the History of Natural Science.

Customer Reviews

Amazing and Little Known Organisms Illustrated
Radiolarians are a total blank to the majority of people, yet these remarkable builders of glass houses (microscopic to be sure) abound in the world's oceans. Ernst Haeckel, the Nineteenth Century German biologist and supporter of Darwin, wrote the most comprehensive monograph on the group in his Radiolarian Atlas of 1862, which is still in use today. The illustrations have never been surpassed and so it is certainly a boon for microscopists that the plates have now been republished in all their glory as "Art Forms from the Ocean: The Radiolarian Atlas of 1862". In many ways I wish that the text would have included descriptions of the radiolarians illustrated and their distributions, but that probably would have been of little interest to the general public. Instead there is a discussion of Haeckel's life and work, especially of his involvement with radiolarians and other microscopic marine life.

Still, for the price this is a real bargain, and I thus recommend this book just for the plates to any amateur or professional biologist who is interested in the micro planktonic organisms of the ocean.

natural forms in nature are a source of inspiration to me in my art.
As an artist I am always trying to enlarge my "visual vocabulary." The symmetry and unlimited variation in sea forms are exquisite in their perfection. This volume has beautiful illustrations.

An Artists Paradise
This is the second book I have purcahsed by Ernst and I am not disappointed. Being a sculptural artist, this is being used as a reference book for me. Only nature could create such stunning objects and only a very talented artist, could recreate this for us all to enjoy. A valued book in my art collection.