Woodcutting

Woodcutting has its origins around the 15th century. Using various tools, the artist carves the motif in grooves in the wood, so that once the ink is applied, the carved part of the wood is spared the ink. This is called the saving cut: it is the part on the surface that is inked.

Originally used for rather religious subjects, woodcutting lost some popularity with the development of copperplate engraving. However, it was given a new lease of life towards the end of the 19th century, with the invention of end woodcutting by Thomas Bewick. As opposed to the traditional technique of woodcutting, which placed the plate against the direction of the wood grain, this new process places the plate perpendicular to the wood. This advance, in addition to the use of copperplate engraving tools for wood, allows much finer and more varied results to be obtained. Exploited by various artists in the 19th century, notably Gustave Doré, woodcutting was later preferred in its roughest form: artists such as Munch or Gauguin returned to woodcutting on wire, finding satisfaction in the expressiveness and spontaneity of the technique.

After making a charcoal sketch, the engraver transfers it to the wood by placing it against the wooden plate. As in linocutting, the plate is then carved according to the patterns of the sketch. The engraver can choose different tools (knife, gouges...) as different ways to position himself in relation to the direction of the wood.

The hollowed parts are generally those outside the pattern, around the design. Once the plate has been engraved to the artist's liking, the ink is spread on the plate. According to the principle of savings cutting, the part dug in the previous step does not take the ink.

The printing stage begins. The plate, covered with a sheet of paper, passes under the press to print the pattern. The first print run is then uncovered. This trial print allows to observe the possible improvements to be made, and the wood can then be reworked before the additional prints.