Artist unknown
German, 15th century
Christ on the Cross with Mary and Saint John, 1499
Hand-colored woodcut on vellum
Bequest of Herschel V. Jones P.68.83

Painted to Printed: The Book in Transition

Saturday, January 28, 2012—Sunday, June 3, 2012
Winton Jones Gallery (344)
Free Exhibition

By looking at single leaves from books dismembered long ago, one can reconstruct the history of book illustration. Here you can see comparisons of painted and printed works, as well as objects that combine both processes. In many cases, the printed works were made to simulate their painted predecessors, but sometimes influence ran in the opposite direction. Witness the ingenuity printers brought to mass production. Some attempted to print text and image from a single surface or to employ modular elements that could be re-used and re-combined. Others applied the exacting, fine art of engraving, although woodcuts ultimately proved more practical. While the gem-like quality of early handmade books was prized, printed books offered an ever-larger public unprecedented access to knowledge, and provided texts enhanced by the most gifted artists of the age.