The Woodcut in Fifteenth-Century Europe: Volume 75

Studies in the History of Art Series

by Peter Parshall (Editor)

More than a generation before the invention of Gutenberg’s celebrated press, the new technology of image printing emerged. In this book, a distinguished group of scholars treats the earliest manifestations of printing in all aspects: technical experimentation, the complex relation of printed books to printed images, individual and institutional patronage, new iconographies, religious propaganda, and the wide variety of private and public ways in which printed images were first employed.

 

The essays examine the technological, social, political, religious, personal, and institutional contexts of 15th-century woodcuts and challenge many assumptions about the phenomenon of early printing, including the beginnings of printing on cloth, the significance of monastic production, the development of book printing and book illustration, and the extent to which printing can or should be termed a “revolution.”

Genres: Art

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2009

Reviews

[Mills College Library]

761.2094 W886 2009

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consists of many academic papers. As such, it's rather dense reading-wise, which I should warn anyone about. If you're alright with some heavier reading though, this is a fantastic book. The prints are beautiful and intriguing to learn about. It serves as a great crash course in the issues of early art prints and museum study. The papers include a wide variety of topics, ranging from the scientific study of the paints used on various prints, to the culture of print exchange between convents.