Origins of European Printmaking

Art 515 Kristofer Plona

Printmaking in the North- Development greatly impacted by the development of

the printing press

- Arguably the most important invention in a century of fine arts

- Dramatic effects on social trends, politics, religion, education, and economy

Printmaking in the North- First instances of printmaking occur in the 14th century

as printed imagery appears on playing cards, tapestries, stained glass, and text illuminations

- Earliest dated woodcut appeared in Brussels in 1418

- Initially, woodcuts served as affordable images for devotion; prints sold to pilgrims as proof of their travels to holy sites throughout Europe

Block Books

Scene from Biblia Pauperum Ink on Vellum

Bavarian State Library, Munich (World Digital Library)

- Constructed by pilgrims

- Religious in context

- Used by clergy for educational purposes

- Biblia Pauperum or “Pauper’s Bible” contained the sum of religious knowledge

- Over 100 pages and 40 illustrations and bound

- Linear prints and colored by hand by other artists or the owner of a given print

Block Books

World Digital Library

Printing Press- Demand for cheaper

books

- Johannes Gutenberg, mid-1500s

- First instance of movable type

- First printed book was the Mazarin Bible ( also referred to as the “Gutenberg Bible”)

Gutenberg Bible- Combined movable type with

hand-drawn illuminations

- Printed in Latin; Three volumes

- 1,282 pages; 290 separate characters, 42 lines of text with two columns

- Text illuminations signal the beginning of new verses

- Origin of standardized spelling and grammar

- Page breaks includedJohann Gutenberg Page From 36-Line Bible Ink on Vellum

The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

(World Digital Library)

Gutenberg Bible

Worlds Digital Library

Map Making

Martin Waldseemüller World Map w/ Gores

Printed 1507(Landau & Parshall)

Map Making

Martin Waldseemüller World Map w/ Gores

Printed 1507(Landau & Parshall)

The Woodcut

Anton SorgDevils Tormenting Abraham in His Cell

Printed 1482(Landau & Parshall)

-Early woodcuts linear in nature with heavy outlines

- Color, texture, value, and perspective an afterthought

- Visual arts spiritual in nature

Albrecht DuererSelf-Portrait at 28

Oil on panelAlte Pinakothek, Munich

Albrecht DuererSelf-Portrait at 28

Oil on panelAlte Pinakothek, Munich

Kristofer PlonaSelf-Portrait at 26

Digital PhotographyMy Apartment, Milton

Albrecht DuererSamson Rending the Lion

Woodcut / WoodblockBritish Museum, London(Landau & Parshall, 170)

Albrecht DuererRhinoceros

Woodcut 1515(World Digital Library)

1482 1497

Lucas Cranach the Elder St. George and the Dragon Chiaroscuro woodcut

British Museum, London(Landau & Parshall, 186)

Chiaroscuro woodcuts included multiple runs and colors

1) Blue (Solid Background)

2) Black (Linear Woodcut)

3) Gold (Highlights)

Printing Guilds• Professional organizations borrowing from

previously founded guilds• Tools of metal workers, carpenters, sculptors,

painters, illuminators, and weavers1) Block making (maple, beech, cherry, etc.)2) Image design for plate3) Formschneider – cutting, carving4) Rubricator – inks, papers, and printing

Master of Balaam St. Eloy in his Workshop

Engraving Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

(Landau & Parshall, 2)

Israhel van MeckenemDance at the Court of Herod Engraving National Gallery of Art, Washington

D.C.(Landau & Parshall,58)

Etchings and Engravings

-Copper, brass, tin, and pewter plates-More durable than woodcuts-Larger editions possible-New tools developed: dry point and burin-Wide variety in line allows artists greater detail and full spectrum of value (lightness vs. darkness)

Works Cited• Bitel, L., & Kelle, M. (n.d.). Devils Tormenting Abraham in His Cell. In Figurae.

Retrieved April 30, 2012, from http://monasticmatrix.org/figurae/?function=summary&id=1229

• Parshall, Peter, and Rainer Schoch.Origins of European Printmaking.New Haven: YaleUniversity Press, 2006. Print

• The Self-Portraits of Albrecht Dürer (2012). In Art History. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/arth200/artist/durer_intro.html

• World Digital Library.United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 7 Mar. 2012.Web. 8 Apr. 2012. from http://www.wdl.org/en/