Woodcut

Woodcut

Using special tools, pieces of a flat block of wood are cut away and ink is rolled onto the remaining raised area. When printed the image is a mirror reflection of the original cutout design. [MH] {NR}
Woodcuts were traditionally dependent on craftsmanship, which may explain why so few creative geniuses have made them and have generally been content to let others produce prints from their designs. Just before and throughout the 1500s a single wood block yielded thousands of copies, to be sold for a few pennies apiece, bringing the individual ownership of pictures within everyone's reach for the first time in history. [RA] {HI}