Prints With/Out Pressure
Book Illustration
Mass-produced book illustration originated in the mid-15th century
in Europe with the inventions of the printing press and moveable type.
Although intaglio methods, such as engraving and etching, largely replaced
the woodcut as the preferred form of the printed image in the 17th and
18th centuries, those techniques had a significant drawback: because
the metal plates used for intaglio are only a few millimeters thick,
and their inking process is completely different from that of type, they
are incompatible with the printing of text. Wood blocks, on the other
hand, can be made to match the height of the type, and the two can be
inked and printed together mechanically. In the late 18th century, with
the invention of wood engraving, the relief print again became a popular
method of illustration, though it was subsequently eclipsed by the development
of photomechanical processes in the late 19th century. It did not take
long for the hand-carved relief process to be revived yet again, as illustrators
of the 20th century were drawn to the relief print’s potential
for expressive imagery and ease of printing.
Although the three illustrators represented in this exhibition took
very different approaches to their work, they demonstrate a mutual passion
for woodcut and illustration. Fritz Eichenberg, for much of his career,
was commissioned by large publishing houses to create illustrations for
major literary works. He described his approach to illustration as a “complete
submersion” in the story, by means of taking a “deep interest
in the author, in his personal life, in the background of his time, in
the motivation that impelled him to write.” While Eichenberg focused
primarily on the psychological and narrative aspects of illustration,
Leonard Baskin and Antonio Frasconi, whose books are exhibited in the
case, gravitated toward experimental format and often playful imagery.
Because their books were shorter in textual content and printed by hand,
they had more freedom for innovation. Indeed, Baskin founded his own
press, The Gehenna Press, in order to print, bind, and publish texts
of his choosing, illustrated by his own prints.
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