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The term Old Master Print is used to describe works of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition (European or New World). A date of about 1830 is usually taken as marking the end of the period whose prints are covered by this term. The article on printmaking describes the techniques used in making Old Master Prints, although from a modern perspective. The main techniques concerned are woodcut, engraving and etching. This article is more concerned with the artistic, historical and social aspects of the subject. Many of the greatest artists, such as Dürer, Rembrandt, and Goya were dedicated printmakers. In their own day, their international reputations largely came from their prints, which were spread far more widely than their paintings. Today, thanks to colour photo reproductions, and public galleries, their paintings are much better known, whilst their prints are only rarely exhibited, for conservation reasons.
Woodcut before Albrecht Dürer The oldest technique is woodcut, or woodblock printing, which was invented in Egypt in the Byzantine period (about 600 CE), and had spread to, or was invented separately in, China before 1000AD. This had reached Europe via the Byzantine or Islamic worlds by 1300, as a method of printing patterns on fabric. Paper arrived in Europe, also from China via Islamic Spain, slightly later, and was being manufactured in Italy by the end of the century. Religious images and playing-cards are documented as being produced on paper, probably printed, by a German in Bologna in 1395. But the most impressive printed European images to survive from before 1400 are printed on cloth, for use as hangings on walls or furniture, including altars. Some were used as a pattern to embroider over. Some religious images were used as bandages, to speed healing. The earliest print images are mostly of a high artistic standard, and were clearly designed by artists with a background in painting (on walls, panels or manuscripts). Whether these artists cut the blocks themselves, or only inked the design on the block for another to carve, is not known. During the fifteenth century the number of prints produced grew hugely as paper became freely available and cheaper, and by the second half of the century the typical woodcut is a relatively crude image. The great majority of surviving 15th century prints are religious, although these were probably the ones more likely to survive. Their makers were sometimes called "Jesus maker" or "saint-maker" in documents. As with manuscript books, monastic institutions sometimes produced, and often sold, prints. No artists can be identified with specific woodcuts until the end of the century. The little evidence we have suggests that woodcut prints became relatively common and cheap during the fifteenth century, and were affordable by at least skilled workers in towns. For example, what may be the earliest surviving Italian print, the "Madonna of the Fire", was hanging by a nail to a wall in a small school in Forli in 1428. The school caught fire, and the crowd who gathered to watch saw the print carried up into the air by the fire, before falling down into the crowd. This was regarded as a miraculous escape and the print was carried to Forli Cathedral, where it remains, since 1636 in a special chapel, displayed once a year. Like the majority of prints before approximately 1470, only a single impression (the term used for a copy of an old master print; "copy" is used for a print copying another print) of this print has survived. Woodcut blocks are printed with light pressure, and are capable of printing several thousand impressions, and even at this period some prints may well have been produced in that quantity. Many prints were hand-coloured, mostly in watercolour. Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands were the main areas of production - England does not seem to have produced any prints until about 1480. But prints are highly portable, and were transported across Europe. A Venetian document of 1441 already complains about cheap imports of playing-cards damaging the local industry. Block-books were a very popular form of (short) book, where a page with both pictures and text was cut as a single woodcut. They were much cheaper than manuscript books, and were mostly produced in the Netherlands; the Art of Dying (Ars moriendi) was the most famous. As a relief technique (see printmaking) woodcut can be printed easily together with movable type, and after this technique arrived in Europe about 1450 printers quickly came to include woodcuts in their books. Some book-owners also pasted prints into prayer-books in particular. Playing-cards were another notable use of prints, and French versions are the basis of the traditional sets still in use today. Engraving before Durer Engraving on metal was part of the goldsmith's craft throughout the Medieval period, and the idea of printing engraved designs onto paper probably began as a method for them to record the designs on pieces they had sold. Some artists trained as painters became involved from about 1450-60, although many engravers continued to come from a goldsmithing background. From the start, engraving was in the hands of the luxury tradesmen, unlike woodcut, where at least the cutting of the block was associated with the lower-status trades of carpentry, and perhaps sculptural wood-carving. Again unlike woodcut, identifiable artists are found from the start. The German, or possibly German-Swiss, Master of the Playing Cards was active by at least the 1440's. The Master ES was a prolific engraver, probably from a goldsmithing background, active from about 1450-1470, and the first to sign his prints with a monogram in the plate. He made significant technical developments, which allowed more impressions to be taken from each plate. Many of his faces have a rather pudding-like appearance, which reduces the impact of what are otherwise fine works. Much of his work still has great charm, and the secular and comic subjects he engraved are almost never found in the painting of the period. The first major artist to engrave was Martin Schongauer (c1450-1491), who worked in Southern Germany, and was also well-known painter. His father and brother were goldsmiths, so he may well have had experience with the burin from an early age. His 116 engravings have a clear authority and beauty, and became well known in Italy as well as Northern Europe, as well as much copied by other engravers. He also further developed engraving technique, in particular refining cross-hatching to depict volume and shade in a purely linear medium. The other notable artist of this period is known as the Housebook Master. He was a highly-talented German artist who is also known from drawings, especially the Housebook album from which he takes his name. His prints were made exclusively in drypoint, scratching his lines on the plate to leave a much shallower line than an engraver's burin would produce; he may have invented this technique. Consequently only a few impressions could be produced from each plate - perhaps about 20 - although some plates were reworked to prolong their life. Despite this limitation, his prints were clearly widely circulated, as many copies of them exist by other printmakers. This is highly typical of admired prints in all media until at least 1520; there was no enforceable concept of anything like copyright. Many of the Housebook Master's print compositions are only known from copies, as none of the presumed originals have survived - a very high proportion of his original prints are only known from a single impression. The largest collection of his prints is at Amsterdam; these were probably kept as a collection, perhaps by the artist himself, from around the time of their creation. Another chance survival is a collection of Florentine prints now in the British Museum, known as the Otto Prints after an earlier owner. This is probably the workshop's own reference set of prints, mostly round or oval, that were used to decorate the inside covers of boxes, primarily for female use. It has been suggested that boxes so decorated may have been given as gifts at weddings. The subject matter and execution of this group suggests they were intended to appeal to middle-class female taste. | ||||||||
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