woodcut
Carved relief impression
A woodcut is a print made from an image carved into a block of wood.
The artist cuts away the areas meant to remain blank, leaving raised lines that receive ink and transfer to paper.
The technique produces bold, graphic images with distinctive texture: a medieval woodcut of the plague, Japanese woodcuts influenced the Impressionists.
A woodcut is also the block itself or the technique as an art form.
Carving into hard surfaces
- carvingShaping by cutting away
- gougingExploitative overpricing
- incisingCutting into material
- chiselingCutting with edged tool
relief · woodblock · inking · burnishing · transferring · registering · proofing · pulling
Print from carved linoleum
- etchingAcid-incised metal print
- lithographyGrease-based flat plate printing
- silkscreenStencil printing through mesh
- intaglioCarving cut below surface
aquatint · drypoint · mezzotint · monotype · serigraphy · stencil · screenprint · monoprint
Transfer text to paper
- impressionEffect on the mind
- proofDemonstration of truth
- editionSingle published version
- illustrationPicture explaining something
broadsheet · poster · frontispiece · vignette · tailpiece · initial · ex-libris · bookplate
Japanese ukiyo-e artist
- ukiyo-eJapanese woodblock print tradition
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- broadsideFierce written assault
chapbook · incunabula · propaganda · pamphlet · almanac · devotional
Concave carving blade
Carved printing matrix
- boxwoodDense-grained ornamental shrub
- cherryRed stone fruit
- pearTapered sweet fruit
- mapleSap-yielding hardwood tree
birch · plywood · linden · basswood · MDF · ink · washi · newsprint
Courageous and daring
- graphicVividly detailed or visual
- starkSevere and unadorned
- monochromeSingle-color rendering
- expressiveShowing feelings outwardly
rustic · textured · organic · grain · linear · primitive · dramatic · rough-hewn
engraving
Carving into hard surfaces
chiseling · relief · woodblock · inking · burnishing · transferring · registering · proofing · pulling · impression
linocut
Print from carved linoleum
- etchingAcid-incised metal print
- lithographyGrease-based flat plate printing
- silkscreenStencil printing through mesh
intaglio · aquatint · drypoint · mezzotint · monotype · serigraphy · stencil · screenprint · monoprint · chiaroscuro
Transfer text to paper
- impressionEffect on the mind
- proofDemonstration of truth
- editionSingle published version
illustration · broadsheet · poster · frontispiece · vignette · tailpiece · initial · ex-libris · bookplate · handbill
Hokusai
Japanese ukiyo-e artist
- ukiyo-eJapanese woodblock print tradition
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
broadside · chapbook · incunabula · propaganda · pamphlet · almanac · devotional
gouge
Concave carving blade
mallet · brayer · roller · burnisher · clamp · press · sandpaper
woodblock
Carved printing matrix
maple · birch · plywood · linden · basswood · MDF · ink · washi · newsprint · cardstock
bold
Courageous and daring
- graphicVividly detailed or visual
- starkSevere and unadorned
- monochromeSingle-color rendering
expressive · rustic · textured · organic · grain · linear · primitive · dramatic · rough-hewn · angular
- Art printswoodblock print, etching, lithograph, engraving, aquatint
- artfine art, Renaissance, painters, masterpieces, paint
- art formspainting, drawing, sculpture, photography, music
- fine artsfine art, fine arts, painting, visual arts, sculpture
- visual artdrawing, fine art, painting, portrait, sketch
- visual artsdrawing, painting, illustration, sculpture, graphic design
woodcutintaglio
Carving cut below surface
etching · engraving · steel engraving · metal engraving · copper engraving
woodcutdigital print
photograph · offset printing · photolithography · photogravure · halftone