origins of european printmaking
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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 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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)
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/