(known in English as Art Forms in Nature) is a book of lithographic and halftone prints by German biologist Ernst Haeckel. Publication Originally published in sets of ten between 1899 and 1904 and collectively in two volumes in 1904, it consists of 100 prints of various organisms, many of which were first described by Haeckel himself. Over the course of his career, over 1000 engravings were produced based on Haeckel's sketches and watercolors; many of the best of these were chosen for , translated from sketch to print by lithographer Adolf Giltsch. A second edition of , containing only 30 prints, was produced in 1914. Themes According to Haeckel scholar Olaf Breidbach, the work was "not just a book of illustrations but also the summation of his view of the world." The over-riding themes of the plates are symmetry and level of organization. The subjects were selected to embody these to the full, from the scale patterns of boxfishes to the spirals of ammonites to the perfect symmetries of jellies and microorganisms, while images composing each plate are arranged for maximum visual impact. Among the notable prints are numerous radiolarians, which Haeckel helped to popularize among amateur microscopists; at least one example is found in almost every set of 10. Cnidaria also feature prominently throughout the book, including sea anemones as well as Siphonophorae, Semaeostomeae, and other medusae. The first set included Desmonema annasethe (now Cyanea annasethe), a particularly striking jellyfish that Haeckel observed and described shortly after the death of his wife Anna Sethe. Influence One prominent example is the Amsterdam Commodities Exchange designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage: it was in part inspired by illustrations. Gallery of prints Haeckel's original classifications appear in italics. See also On Growth and Form References Breidbach, Olaf. Visions of Nature: The Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel. Prestel Verlag: Munich, 2006. External links Marine Biological Laboratory Library - An exhibition of material on Haeckel, including background on many plates. University Art Gallery, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth - An Ernst Haeckel exhibition from 2005 pairing prints from with modern sculptures. Kurt Stüber's Biolib - An online version of with 300 dpi scans of the 100 plates, their scheme plates, the accompanying description, table of contents and supplement pages (in german). Ernst Haeckel's as zoomable images - One hundred plates of (requires flash). Natural history Biology books Science in art 1899 non-fiction books 1904 non-fiction