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  Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection > History of the Woodcut > Wood Engraving and Linocut
 
 
Erasto Cortes Juarez (Mexican, born about 1911). <I>The Guerrilla Fighter Aureliano Rivera,</I> 1951; wood engraving. Gift from the funds of various donors to the Department of Prints and Drawings 2000.98
Erasto Cortes Juarez (Mexican, born about 1911). The Guerrilla Fighter Aureliano Rivera, 1951; wood engraving. Gift from the funds of various donors to the Department of Prints and Drawings 2000.98

Wood Engraving and Linocut

Like woodcut, wood engraving and linocut are relief techniques-that is, the image is printed from the raised portions of a carved block. Wood engraving became popular at the end of the 18th century. The end grain of hard boxwood has a smooth, uniform texture that can be engraved with a sharp instrument, making closely set lines possible to produce minute detail and a great range of textures and tones. The surface of the block is inked so that engraved areas appear as white lines (the white of the paper) against an inked background.

Used extensively for illustrating books and periodicals in the 19th century, wood engraving became popular again in the 1930s. The technique allows for the printing of a large number of impressions. This inexpensive, transportable method served Mexican artists well in their quest to champion the ideals of the revolution (1910-20) amongst the often illiterate poor. Heroes like Aureliano Rivera were glorified as a reminder of the armed struggle that improved conditions for the majority of Mexicans.



Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973). <I>Still Life Under a Lamp</I>, 1962; color linocut. John L. Severance Fund 1984.61
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973). Still Life Under a Lamp, 1962; color linocut. John L. Severance Fund 1984.61
Artists began to use linoleum for printmaking in the early 20th century. Invented as floor covering in England in 1860, linoleum is supple, easily incised, cheap, and readily available so its use quickly became widespread. Pablo Picasso first made linocuts in 1951 but found it tedious to cut a separate block for each color. Picasso's innovation was to use a single block of linoleum to print all of the colors, cutting out more of the design from the block for each color.

To create Still Life Under a Lamp , he first printed the uncut block in white. Then the few areas that were to remain white were cut away, the surface of the block was inked in yellow, and the block was printed. Next, the areas to remain yellow were cut away, and the block, inked with red, was printed over the yellow. Proceeding in this manner, the green and black were also added in succession. This is a daring method: if a mistake is made at the end of the process, the entire edition is ruined.


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