Karl Blossfeldt was a German photographer and sculptor born in 1865 who is known for his close-up photographs of plants and flowers. He studied sculpture and foundry work and later traveled throughout Europe. In the late 1890s, he began photographing plants against plain backgrounds to teach his students patterns and forms in nature. His book featuring these plant photographs published in 1928 became an international bestseller and brought his work wider recognition. Blossfeldt's sharp, detailed plant photos were part of the emerging "New Objectivity" art movement in Germany after World War I that rejected impressionistic styles.