Origins of European printmaking: fifteenth-century woodcuts and their public

Abstract

"The first comprehensive history of late medieval printmaking, which transformed image production and led to profound changes in Western culture This highly anticipated and beautifully illustrated book examines the evolution of early printmaking in late medieval Europe. Through their means of production and the evidence of their utility, prints are explored in a broad social and economic context. Key topics include the complex problem of reconstructing the beginnings of the European woodcut; the practice of copying and dissemination of models endemic to the medium; and the varied functions of the print from the spiritual to the secular. A team of expert authors examines the many ways in which fifteenth-century woodcuts and metalcuts reflect the nature of piety and visual experience. Replicated images helped to structure private religious practice, transmit beliefs, disseminate knowledge about material facts, and graph abstract ideas. Mass-produced pictures made it feasible for people of all stations to possess them, thereby initiating a change in the role of images that eventually helped alter the definition of art itself. The Origins of European Printmaking is an essential book for art historians, students, and collectors, as well as the general reader with an interest in medieval history and culture"--Provided by publisher.

Contents

Early woodcuts and the reception of the primitive / Peter Parshall and Rainer Schoch -- The early woodcut: the known and the unknown / Richard S. Field -- The multiple image: the beginnings of printmaking, between old theories and new approaches / Peter Schmidt -- Catalogue. Techniques of replication -- Traces of an early style -- Reception and markets -- Passion and compassion -- Intercession and instruction -- The saints.