Woodwhat?

Woodcut printmaking, developed about 800 years before Gutenberg’s printing press success, is an exciting glimpse into the history of printing. Originating around 7th century China, woodblock printing was first used for textiles and books. An influential and surviving use of woodcut printing is the Diamond Sutra. Dating back to 9th century China, the content contained Buddhist teachings, and it is the oldest completed printed book. 

Title page of the Diamond Sutra, a 16-foot scroll about Buddhist teachings printed in 868 CE China. The oldest known printed book in human history. 

Within the major types of printmaking that have been used throughout history, woodcut printing is a form of “relief printing,” and “relief” in this case is defined as “a method of moulding, carving, or stamping in which the design stands out from the surface to a greater (high relief) or lesser (bas-relief) extent,” according to Oxford English Dictionary. An example of bas-relief would be the illustration of the Code of Hammurabi, which depicts King Hammurabi and the Babylonian sun God Shamash, which I covered in my first blog post. 

Bas-relief carving of King Hammurabi and the deity Shamash from the Code of Hammurabi 

The design would be drawn or traced onto the wood beforehand, and then carved. Because it was done along the grain of wood, the woodcut artists were unable to do fine details due to the fragility of the uncarved sections.

It is like a large stamp: the negative space is gouged out (what is meant to be left white), leaving a raised section to be printed, which is inked and pressed onto the paper. There was not a lot of pressure needed in this process, so it was simple to do.

Example of woodcut printing used for Chinese text 

It is incredible to think about the time and effort that must have gone into carving every single Chinese character. I cannot imagine the difficulty of carving details into the wood, let alone thousands of different characters! 

Although this new printing method would not make waves in Europe until the 15th century, its influence would reach India, Japan, and Korea. It is easy to forget the countless hours that were required for such things as printing, and how much technology has evolved throughout history.  

Sources

  • Illustration Techniques. (n.d.). © University of Washington, All Rights Reserved. Retrieved 15 October 2022, from https://content.lib.washington.edu/historicalbookartsweb/illustech.html
  • printmaking | Definition, History, Techniques, Artists, & Facts. (2021, November 2). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 15 October 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/art/printmaking/Major-techniques-of-printmaking
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2021, November 2). woodcut | Technique, History, Artists, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 15 October 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/art/woodcut
  • woodcut | The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature – Credo Reference. (n.d.). Retrieved 15 October 2022, from https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/oupocl/woodcut/0
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  • woodcuts | The Encyclopaedia of the Renaissance – Credo Reference. (n.d.). Retrieved 15 October 2022, from https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/mheren/woodcuts/0