Holzschnitt

In the beginning is the woodcut. Holzschnitt. 1400 bis heute (Woodcut: 1400 to the Present) is the first in a series of publications examining the different techniques for making art prints, in all their diversity and centuries of fascination, based on the unique collection of the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings). Through around one hundred works of art on paper-including masterpieces by Albrecht Dürer, Edvard Munch, and Käthe Kollwitz-the development of the woodcut is traced from its beginnings to the present day. From Lucas Cranach and the chiaroscuro woodcuts of the Renaissance, to the extravagant color prints of the Rococo period and the watercolor-inspired prints of the late nineteenth century, to the radically reduced formal language of Expressionism and the rebirth of woodblock printing in the modern era. The resistant and irregular nature of the material is also appreciated in contemporary art: from photorealistic works to abstract large formats, images are printed as one-offs. Deliberately running counter to the reproductive character of the medium, they lend great currency to the oldest of printmaking processes.