Printmaking History

Printmaking is a form of art and an essential technique used to create duplicates. Without printmaking humanity would still be reproducing literature, documents, and important pieces of art by hand. It also allowed for artists to express themselves with a new form of art. Printmaking has been around since the ancient times, although, our ancient ancestors used more primitive forms it still made a significant impact on humanity. According to the editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “ the Sumerians engraved designs and cuneiform inscriptions on cylinder seals, then rolled then over soft clay, that left relief impressions.” This rudimentary form of printmaking opened the possibilities to more complex and challenging forms of printmaking and …show more content…
The technique utilized by the Buddhists is very similar to the rudimentary techniques used by the Sumerians. The Buddhists would use a sharp tool to piece out sections from a wood block that they did not desire to have printed, the wood block after preparation is termed the matrix. After creating the matrix the Buddhists would then transfer the image to a scroll using pressure and would create a relief image. Creating a relief with a wood block and pressure would come to be known as woodcut prints. The use of woodcut can help aid in the significance of a piece of art for example Kathe Kollwitz used woodcut in 1921-1922 to help create a deeper definition to her piece The Widow. According to Getlein, “Kollwitz allowed traces of the cutaway portions of the block print, evoking the energy and violence of the cutting and gouging that cleared the background away (Getlein 178).” The Widow is about war and Kathe used the woodblock to her advantage to create more meaning and a stronger definition of what her art was about, if she had used another form of printmaking the intended effect that the piece has on the viewer would not be the same. In contrary to Kathe the Diamond Sutra was not created with woodcut to evoke a more preferable reaction.