wood engraving

wood engraving
wood engraver.
1. the art or process of engraving designs in relief with a burin on the end grain of wood, for printing.
2. a block of wood so engraved.
3. a print or impression from it.
[1810-20]

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art
 a printmaking technique in which a print is made from a design incised on the transverse section, or end, of a hardwood block. The technique was developed in England in the last half of the 18th century, and its first master was the printmaker Thomas Bewick (Bewick, Thomas), whose illustrations for such natural history books as A History of British Birds (1797 and 1804) were the first extended use of the technique. After Bewick's death, however, wood engraving served merely as a method to reproduce other works of art. The English poet and artist William Blake (Blake, William) (1757–1827) engraved his own designs on wood, but his work is an isolated example of original work done in the technique in his day.

      In 19th-century France and Germany, it became the most general means of illustrating books, magazines, and even newspapers. Gustave Doré (Doré, Gustave) in France and Adolf Menzel (Menzel, Adolf von) in Germany produced enormous quantities of drawings for illustration that were engraved by artisans. Although in the late 19th century photoengraving began to replace wood engraving for reproduction, the other technique survived and was used to great advantage by such artists as M.C. Escher (Escher, M.C.), Leonard Baskin (Baskin, Leonard), Fritz Eichenberg, and Barry Moser.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Wood engraving — is a relief printing technique, where the end grain of wood is used as a medium for engraving, thus differing from the older technique of woodcut, where the softer side grain is used. Origin and technique The technique of wood engraving developed …   Wikipedia

  • Wood engraving — Wood Wood, n. [OE. wode, wude, AS. wudu, wiodu; akin to OHG. witu, Icel. vi?r, Dan. & Sw. ved wood, and probably to Ir. & Gael. fiodh, W. gwydd trees, shrubs.] [1913 Webster] 1. A large and thick collection of trees; a forest or grove; frequently …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wood engraving — n. 1. the art or process of engraving on wood 2. WOODCUT: a wood engraving is often distinguished from a woodcut in that the former uses a block of wood cut across the grain and the latter a block of wood cut along the grain wood engraver n …   English World dictionary

  • wood engraving — noun Date: 1816 1. a relief printing surface consisting of a wooden block with a usually pictorial design cut in the end grain 2. a print from a wood engraving …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • wood engraving — wood′ engrav ing n. 1) fia the art or process of engraving designs in relief with a burin on wood cut against the grain, for printing 2) fia a block of wood so engraved 3) fia a print or impression from it • Etymology: 1810–20 wood′ engrav er, n …   From formal English to slang

  • wood engraving — noun 1. a print made from a woodcut • Syn: ↑woodcut • Hypernyms: ↑engraving 2. engraving consisting of a block of wood with a design cut into it; used to make prints • Syn: ↑woodcut, ↑wood block …   Useful english dictionary

  • wood engraving — /ˈwʊd ɛnˌgreɪvɪŋ/ (say wood en.grayving) noun 1. the art or process of engraving designs in relief with a burin on the end grain of wood, for printing. 2. a block of wood so engraved. 3. a print or impression from it. –wood engraver, noun …  

  • wood engraving — noun 1》 a print made from a finely detailed design cut into the end grain of a block of wood. 2》 the technique of making such prints. Derivatives wood engraver noun …   English new terms dictionary

  • wood-engraving — n. 1. Xylography. 2. Wood cut, cut …   New dictionary of synonyms

  • Wood — Wood, n. [OE. wode, wude, AS. wudu, wiodu; akin to OHG. witu, Icel. vi?r, Dan. & Sw. ved wood, and probably to Ir. & Gael. fiodh, W. gwydd trees, shrubs.] [1913 Webster] 1. A large and thick collection of trees; a forest or grove; frequently used …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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