This exhibition is dedicated to the art of woodcut. It is a continuation of the series of mini-exhibitions that introduce print techniques.
Printing on wood, or woodcut, is one of the earliest printing techniques in Europe, likely rising from the practice of printing on cloth. This technique was invented between the 14th and 15th centuries and reached its peak in the 16th century, thanks to Albrecht Dürer’s works. After a long period of decline, woodcut was revived by German expressionists at the beginning of the 20th century. Influenced by cubism, futurism, and the art of Africa and the Far East, and combining them with the traditions of German printing of the 16th century, the expressionists created a new bright, expressive art. Its fundamental features were stylization, which was achieved via simplified draughtsmanship using angular lines and blots, and a strong, emotionally expressive confrontation of light and dark surfaces on a sheet of paper.
The exhibited works of expressionists such as Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Emil Nolde, Conrad Felixmüller, and Otto Pankok represent the most important distinctions of woodcut as a technique in the evolution of expressionism. They are based on black and white blots with contours resembling various kinds of “teeth” and projections almost cutting into each other and colliding in a tense drama. The technique of printing on wood attracted German artists throughout the first half of the 20th century. Just as in the times of Albrecht Dürer, all prominent painters and sculptors in Germany explored the method during that period.
The exhibition takes place on the White Floor.
