origins of european printmaking art 515 kristofer plona
TRANSCRIPT
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/