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The Relief Methods |
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This is the oldest of the graphic arts. In Europe, anonymous masters created original woodcuts as early as 1400 A.D. In the woodcut, the artist works on a plank of soft wood (usually pine) and cuts along the grain. After drawing his image on the wood he cuts away at those parts of his design which are not to be printed with a sharp knife or gouge. At this point the design has been sculpted out in relief, rather like type. The surface of the block is then inked, covered with a sheet of paper and pressed. The inked design is therefore transferred to the paper and the resulting print is called a woodcut. The woodcut reached its height in Germany during the Renaissance and the names of Albrect Durer, Altdorfer, Graf and Cranach stand as its greatest early masters. After 1550 other more exacting graphic techniques began to surpass this process and the woodcut came to be looked upon as the poor man’s print. It wasn’t until nearly the beginning of our century that artists began to rediscover the unique qualities of this medium, propelling it once again to the forefront. The great modern masters of the woodcut are Gaugin, Munch, and the German Expressionists. In Japan, the colour woodcut has always reigned supreme. Wood Engraving This is an important variation of the woodcut, invented in the late eighteenth century. Original wood engraving is done with the cut end of the wood, as opposed to the plank side. The wood employed is always a hard wood, usually boxwood. A burin or graver is used to cut much finer lines than is possible with the woodcut. Thomas Bewick was the first great exponent of his medium and remains one of its masters. During the 19th Century wood engraving was an art practiced throughout the world for illustrating books and periodicals. Unlike other processes, the thin and strong wood engraving blocks could be printed under high pressure with type press. This adaptation led to the birth of publications such as the Illustrated London News, The Graphic, and others. During the early decades of our century, relief methods on wood again came to the forefront. Expressionist artists, particularly in Germany, found that the lines produced by the woodcut perfectly suited their needs. At the same time, wood engraving flourished in England, America and elsewhere. No longer tied to commercial periodicals, wood engraving became the favoured vehicle for artists and the illustrated book of the 1920s. Linocut A 20th Century variation, linoleum is used in the same manner as a woodcut plank. Its advantage is its softness. Without any grain, linoleum is easy to cut in any direction. Picasso is perhaps the modern master of this process. A number of well known artists in both Europe and North America also made fine linocuts. |
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