A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . tire symbol of his fall, and with his left supports a cross, the emblem ofhis redemption. Inthe front is Christ aiding others of the ancestors toascend from the pit, to the great dismay of the demons whose realm isinvaded. A horrid monster, with a head like that of a boar surmountedwith a horn, aims a blow at the Eedeemer with a kind of rude lance;while another, a hideous compound of things tliat swim, and walk, andflv, sounds a note of alarm to arouse his kindred fiends. On a stone, 250 WOOD ENGRAVING above the entrance to the pit, is
A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . tire symbol of his fall, and with his left supports a cross, the emblem ofhis redemption. Inthe front is Christ aiding others of the ancestors toascend from the pit, to the great dismay of the demons whose realm isinvaded. A horrid monster, with a head like that of a boar surmountedwith a horn, aims a blow at the Eedeemer with a kind of rude lance;while another, a hideous compound of things tliat swim, and walk, andflv, sounds a note of alarm to arouse his kindred fiends. On a stone, 250 WOOD ENGRAVING above the entrance to the pit, is the date 1510 ; and Durers mark isperceived on another stone immediately before the figure of Christ-This cut, with the exception of the frequent cross-hatching, is designedmore in the style and spirit of the artists illustrations of the Apocalypse,than in the manner of the rest of the series to which it The preceding specimens of wood-cuts from Durers three great works,the Apocalypse, the History of the Virgin, and Christs Passion, affordnot only an idea of the style of his drawing on wood, but also of theprogress made by the art of wood engraving from the time of his firstavailing himself of its capabilities. In Durers designs on wood weperceive not only more correct drawing and a greater knowledge ofcomposition, but also a much more effective combination of light andshade, than are to be found in any wood-cuts executed before the date ofhis earliest work, the Apocalypse, which appeared in 1498. One of the IN THE TIME OF ALBERT DUREH. 251 peculiar advantages of wood engraving is the effect with which strongshades can be represented ; and of this Durer has generally availedhimself with the greatest skill. On comparing his works engraved onwood with all those previously executed in the same manner, we shallfind that his figures are not only much better drawn and more skilfullygrouped,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectwoodengraving, bookye
