Woodblock printmaking

In woodblock printmaking, the parts of the block which are not to appear on the print are removed from the block by cutting them away with a knife. For printing, the raised parts of the block are inked and a paper is pressed on it by hand or with the help of a press. This method, which also includes the techniques of wood engraving and lino cut, is called relief printmaking.

History

China

Woodblock printmaking is one of the oldest printmaking techniques. It was developed from the technique of cutting or shaping stamps and seals. The most important precondition for its development was the creation of paper which dates to 105 AD in China. The first printmaking technique was probably stone rubbing. Calligraphies engraved into stones were inked and rubbed with humid paper.
Stone rubbing lead to the development of woodblock printmaking, or both techniques emerged at the same time. The first woodblock printmaking book in China which can be dated clearly has been made in 868. It is done in such a perfect way that a much earlier development is very likely. Strongly influenced by China were the prints of the "dharanis" in Japan in 770, which were printed in an edition of one million, though it is not clear out of which material the plates were made. In the first centuries in China woodblock printmaking was used for the reproduction of Buddhist texts and amulets.

Europe

In Europe, woodblock printmaking emerged much later. Printing on fabric with wooden stencils was common for centuries, however, woodblock printmaking started along with the beginning paper production in the 1390ies.
The first woodblock prints were single sheet prints, mostly showing saints who were giving protection when looking at them. These prints were pasted into book covers or attached to walls, sometimes doors or ceilings were covered completely by them. They were hand printed, and some of them were coloured from the so called "letter painters" with the help of stencils, taking care that the printed line stayed clearly visible. The period of the first woodblocks in Europe is the end of the High Gothic. At that time, spiritual line drawing had a very distinct touch. So the European woodblock started with line cutting (cutting wide areas emerged around 1900). The black drawing of the coloured Gothic glass windows is very close in style to the first woodblock prints and seems to be a preparation for this.

Single sheet prints were followed by block books. These were prints which were pasted together on the back of the paper and bound to books this way. They were showing figurative motives with text, which was first added by handwriting, later cut into the block. Favourite themes of the block books were the "Biblia Pauperum" (bible of the poor), the "Totentanz" (dance of death) or the "Planetenbücher" (books of planets).
With Gutenbergs invention of typography in 1440, the creation of the block books ended, as text and image were now separated and the relation between text and image changed completely. While in the block book the focus was on the image, it was now on the text. Printing was now done with the help of a press, while the height of the block was adjusted to the height of the lead letters.

Around 1500, the woodblock technique of book illustration had its prime. Its centres were Germany (Augsburg, Ulm, Nürnberg) and the Netherlands. One of the most important works of this time was the "Schedelsche Weltchronik", which was illustrated with 2000 woodblock prints. It was printed from around 100 printers with the use of 24 presses in Nürnberg. At that time, the work was done in teams with several skilled craftsmen: designers, cutters and printers. The designers often stayed anonymous, and only a few of them became well-known.
With Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) from Nürnberg, the woodblock print reached a new level of sophistication and changed into an art form. His big woodblock sequences, especially the "Apokalypse" with its monumental, dramatic compositions, made him famous and gave the woodblock print a new meaning.

In the 17th century engraving and etching became the most commonly used printmaking techniques in Europe and started to replace the woodblock printmaking, which lost even more of its economical meaning with the invention of lithography and - later - photography. This way it mainly became a medium of art. The opening of Japan in the year 1853, which made the Japanese woodblock prints available to a Western audience, influenced many artists like Gauguin, Munch and van Gogh.
In the beginning 20th century woodblock printmaking had a special meaning for the German expressionists of the "Brücke".
Today, woodblock printmaking is one of many ways of art expression.

Technique

Woodblock printmaking bases on cutting those areas that are not to be printed out of a wooden block. For printing, ink is spread on the remaining parts in the block, and a sheet of paper is placed on it, rubbed with a rubber tool by hand or printed with a press, creating a side-inverted impression.

Appropriate woods, especially for very detailed woodblock prints, are the woods from hard fruit trees like cherry and pear. Easier to cut are softer woods like linden or alder. Today, plywood can also be used.

In Western woodblock printmaking, printing is done with oil-based ink, which is applied to the block with a roller, and printed with the help of a printing press.

In the Asian woodblock printmaking tradition, water-based ink is applied to the block with brushes, in the Japanese technique in addition with a printing paste made of rice starch, and the block is hand printed with a printing tool on dry or humid paper.

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