The century of ColumbusWalsh, James J. (James Joseph)
History
The century of Columbus
Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Renaissance
Besides Dürer and the group who were largely influenced by him, one
man, Hans Holbein, deserves special mention because he illustrates
especially the connection of the new art with book-making. Holbein
commenced to practise wood-engraving as soon as he settled in Basel at
about the age of twenty. He began by designing the title page, initial
letters and woodcuts for the publishers of that period. He illustrated
the books of the humanists, especially the "Utopia" of Sir Thomas
More, then a new and popular work, and afterwards designed the
woodcuts for the Biblical translation of Luther, and he did some
excellent caricature work. He is a realist and has illustrated
particularly humble life, incidents of the daily doings of peasants
and children, and these scenes are sometimes introduced as the
background of initial letters, some twenty alphabets of which are
ascribed to him. Geoffrey Tory in France introduced a classical spirit
into wood-engraving, and the sculptors, Jean Cousin and Bernard
Salomon and especially Jean Goujon, who made some excellent cuts for
Vitruvius (1547), and a group of other illustrators in France, serve
to show how the art spread and was used all over the world.
Another interesting development both in prints and in
book-illustration came in the gradual evolution of metal-engraving,
which, like wood-engraving, reached some of its highest perfection in
Germany. Martin Schongauer, who died in 1488, is the first important
name, though he was preceded by an unknown German engraver usually
spoken of as "The Master of 1466." Schongauer used curved shading and
greatly developed the technique. After him came Dürer, who lifted
metal-engraving, especially copperplate-engraving, into the realm of
art. Probably nothing illustrates so well his power of minute
observation as some of his copperplates. His animals are reproduced
with fidelity and charm, and in the early days of landscape painting
he studied every leaf and branch and tree trunk and knew how to
picture just what he saw. The climax of artistic quality was reached
by Marcantonio in Italy, who worked under the direction of Raphael.
After the work of these masters there was very little left to be added
by subsequent engravers.
{163}
[Illustration: DÜRER, MARRIAGE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (WOODCUT, 1511)]
{164}
How much the illustration of books was helped by this new development
of art can be very readily appreciated by those who know some of the
old books. Even technical books, such as text-books of anatomy, were
beautifully illustrated from copperplates that are not merely
conventional pictures, but often real works of art. The plates for
Vesalius' anatomy were probably prepared under the direction of Titian
by one of his best students, Kalkar, and Eustachius' anatomical plates
probably also had the counsel of a great artist. [Footnote 17]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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