A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . inite idea is necessary to be attached to thus endeavoured to give a little brightness to the colour ofignorant printseUers and engravers, I shall resume my observationson the cuts in the Nuremberg Chronicle, to the colour of which thepreceding digression is to be ascribed. The preceding cut, representing the Creation of Eve, is copied fromone of the best in the Nuremberg Chronicle, both with respect to designand engraving. In this, compared with most other cuts previouslyexecuted, much more colour will be perceived, which re
A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . inite idea is necessary to be attached to thus endeavoured to give a little brightness to the colour ofignorant printseUers and engravers, I shall resume my observationson the cuts in the Nuremberg Chronicle, to the colour of which thepreceding digression is to be ascribed. The preceding cut, representing the Creation of Eve, is copied fromone of the best in the Nuremberg Chronicle, both with respect to designand engraving. In this, compared with most other cuts previouslyexecuted, much more colour will be perceived, which results from thecloseness of the single lines, as in the dark parts of the rock immediatelybehind the figure of Eve ; from the introduction of dark lines crossingeach other,—called cross-hatching,—as may be seen in the drapery ofthe Divinity ; and from the contrast of the shade thus produced withthe lighter parts of the cut. The siTbjoined cut, of the same subject, copied from the PoorPreachers Bible,* will, by comparison with the preceding, illustrate. 4% ^^^^ \\\<» K^ 3 r more clearly than any verbal explanation the difference with respect tocolour between the wood-cuts in the old block-books and in most othersprinted between 1462 and 1493, and those contained in the Nuremberg * In the original, this cut, with one of Christs side pierced by a soldier, and another ofMoses striking the rock, are intended to illustrate tlie mystery of the Sacrament of theLords Supper. IN CONNEXION WITH THE PRESS. 217 Chronicle. In this cut there is no indication of colour ; the shades inthe drapery which are expressed by hard parallel lines are all of equalstrength, or rather weakness ; and the hair of Adams head and thefoliage of the tree are expressed nearly in the same manner. This manner of representing the creation of Eve appears to haveheen general amongst the wood engravers of the fifteenth century,for the same subject frequently occurs in old cuts executed previous to1500. It is fr
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectwoodengraving, bookye
