Plants and landscape were one of Philipp Otto Runge’s favorite subjects and he once wrote “Is there not then in this new art—call it landscape if you like—a highest point to be achieved?” Corn flowers belongs to a series of cut-out silhouettes created by Runge around the early 1800s. Each presents a plant or flower in exacting detail, including each petal and leaf. The technique used was a traditional folk practice, which Runge learned early on from his mother. He ultimately produced well over one hundred such works, which he occasionally gave as gifts.