Printing 1450–1520

woodcut, printing, stencils, books, playing cards, Medieval, Renaissance

  • Madonna and Child in a Courtyard, about 1474

    Madonna and Child in a Courtyard, about 1474, Museum no. E.674-1940

    The Madonna and Child in a Courtyard
    Engraving on paper, lettered with the artist's monogram and device
    Colmar, Germany
    About 1474
    Museum no. E.674-1940
    From the bequest of Miss Alice G E Carthew

    Martin Schongauer, son of a goldsmith, was one of the first European artists to explore the full expressive potential of engraving. Even working on a very small scale, he could create a vivid image. Contemporaries soon recognised the importance of Schongauer's technique and within his lifetime began to collect his prints.

  • Fragment of printed linen, 1350–1400. Museum no. 1745-1888

    Fragment of printed linen, 1350–1400. Museum no. 1745-1888

    Fragment of printed linen
    Pink linen printed with black pigment, probably by woodblock
    Probably Germany
    1350–1400
    Museum no. 1745-1888

    Printed textiles predated prints on paper, but few survive today. This one shows women trapping birds in a vine. As with other examples, it is mostly the background that is printed in colour, not the design of figures, birds and foliage.

  • Book of Hours, about 1501. Museum no. RC.H.13

    Book of Hours, about 1501. Museum no. RC.H.13

    Book of Hours
    Print and metal-cut on parchment
    Paris, France
    About 1501
    Museum no. RC.H.13

    A book of hours had a cycle of prayers for use throughout the day. In the mid-1480s the wealthier Paris publishers began to produce versions crammed with printed ornament and images. They were a colossal publishing success. Philippe Pigouchet printed this one for Simon Vostre, a bookseller in the Rue Neuve Notre Dame.

  • Virgin and Child, 1450–75. Museum no. 321A-1894

    Virgin and Child, 1450–75. Museum no. 321A-1894

    Virgin and Child
    Woodcut, coloured by hand and stuck onto wood
    Italy
    1450–75
    Museum no. 321A-1894

    Hundred of examples of this print were doubtless produced but this is the only known survivor. Being stuck to a wooden surface, perhaps a door, saved it from destruction. Prints like this enabled more people to have religious images in their own homes.

  • Nine of Hares playing card, about 1500. Museum no. E.14-1923

    Nine of Hares playing card, about 1500. Museum no. E.14-1923

    Nine of Hares playing card
    Master P W of Cologne (active about 1499–1503)
    Engraving on paper, lettered 9 and VIIII
    Cologne, Germany
    About 1500
    Museum no. E.14-1923

    One of the earliest uses of printing was the mass production of playing cards. Previously they had been drawn or hand-painted. This card is one of a pack of 72 printed playing cards consisting of five suits: hares, parrots, roses, columbines and carnations.

  • Blockbook Bible for the Poor, about 1465

    Blockbook Bible for the Poor, about 1465, Museum no. E.686 to 725-1918

    Blockbook Bible for the Poor (Biblia Pauperum )
    Woodcut on paper
    Germany or the Netherlands
    About 1465
    Museum no. E.686 to 725-1918
    Bought under the terms of the Murray Bequest

    Each page in a blockbook was printed from a single woodblock, a method that was used for works in high demand. Although this book is called a 'bible for the poor', the complex format - with scenes from Christ's life paralleled by ones from the Old Testament, along with an explanatory text - suggests an educated, well-off readership.

  • Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, 1499. Museum no. 87.F.27

    Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, 1499. Museum no. 87.F.27

    Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
    Text by Francesco Colonna (1433?–1527)
    Printed by Aldus Manutius
    Ink on paper; woodcut illustrations after designs by an unknown artist (perhaps Benedetto Bordon)
    Italy, Venice
    1499
    Museum no. 87.F.27

    Widely regarded, then as now, as the most beautiful printed book of its time, this uses a combination of words and pictures to recount Poliphilo's search for his love, Polia. In Italian but aimed at readers familiar with Ovid, Apuleius and other classical texts, the story gives atmospheric descriptions of ruins, monuments, sculptures and antiquities.