Though simple, the woodcut is not as old as you might think, because you can't do woodcuts until you have paper on which to print. They appear first in China, in the 5th century, and then in Europe in the 14th century. The art of the woodcut is, graphically, sort of like the verbal art of the haiku or maybe the sonnet. The image limitations are severe: strictly monochrome (unless you paint the image after printing); texture may appear from the wood grain or from changes you make in the surface of the wood. The artists in the caves at Lascaux, working under much more severe limitations, created miraculous images. So too have artists who have chosen the challenging restraints of the woodcut as their medium. (The music throughout is by John Dowland.) 1. Dürer. The Men's Bath (1497). |