![]() ![]() While not the original inventor, Gutenberg perfected the movable type printing press around 1450 and popularized it in Europe. Perhaps the most significant contribution to printmaking from the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press revolutionized the art form and the culture. The earliest known intaglio print is the 1446 German print, “The Flagellation.” The technique soon traveled to Italy and throughout Europe. Unlike woodcuts, the metal matrix’s sunken areas held the ink, which was transferred onto paper. ![]() The images combined tiny dots and short cuts punched into the surface. Metal engraving, the first intaglio printing form, arrived a few decades later and soon became the most popular printmaking technique for its refined results. As the practice evolved, artists began creating more complicated designs, with architecture and landscapes in the background and elaborate borders. The technique soon passed down to artists, who used it to render bold figures against blank backgrounds. The earliest European prints date back to the beginning of the 15th century when woodcut prints were used to make paper playing cards in Germany. Since then, printmaking has spread throughout the world, serving many purposes and artists over the centuries. When the Chinese introduced movable type sometime between 10 and improved on the design over the coming centuries, bookmaking became much more possible and versatile. Carving away from the wood would create negative space on the print after the ink was transferred onto fabric or paper. The original form of printmaking used a small wooden board as the matrix. The first print on paper was made during the seventh century. The earliest known example, a woodblock print on silk, has been dated sometime during the Han Dynasty from 206 B.C. The history of printmaking began in Han Dynasty China. ![]() Throughout history, it’s served as an affordable way to communicate and share art. The printmaking process lets artists create many iterations of the same image. Traditional printmaking methods, including woodcut, etching, engraving and lithography, require a printing press to provide even pressure. The artist then inks the template and transfers it onto another surface. A printmaker creates the matrix out of wood, metal, glass or other material, using tools or chemicals to work the surface into an image. Printmaking is an art form that involves transferring images from a matrix, or template, onto another surface, usually paper or fabric. Today, an original print from a talented artist is a thing of beauty and holds much value to art collectors and enthusiasts. Printmaking allowed societies to disseminate information through mass-produced books, religious illustrations and maps.Īs printmaking has served many practical purposes through its storied past, it is highly valued as an art form. Prints could be distributed to everyday people who couldn’t necessarily afford one-of-a-kind oil paintings. It offered immense value to society as an art form that allowed images and text to be reproduced. Soon after the art form was invented, the importance of printmaking became realized. Through the centuries, printmaking has required incredible handiwork and the ingenuity to create visually interesting and evocative artwork. Printmaking is a unique art form that blends creativity and technical skill.
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