The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse exhibits Dürer at his printing best. Works like this one, established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties.
The woodcuts reflects the apocalyptic spirit of Northern Europe at a time when famine, plague, and social and religious upheaval were common (it's known that Dürer was sympathetic to Luther's reform).
The woodcuts reflects the apocalyptic spirit of Northern Europe at a time when famine, plague, and social and religious upheaval were common (it's known that Dürer was sympathetic to Luther's reform).
How is it done?
Basically the artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts (left side of the photo).
The areas cut-away (hollow spaces) carry no ink, while characters or images at surface level carry the ink to produce the print. The surface is covered with ink by rolling over the surface with an ink-covered roller (brayer), leaving ink upon the flat surface but not in the non-printing areas.
You can call this "xylography", but this is rarely used in English for images alone. Woodcut became a popular term in Europe during the latter half of the 15th century.
What do we get a mark level?
1. drama
2. moral instruction (the equivalent today is your pet social campaigns)
3. memento mori, life is short, make the best of it! (this is the end of the middle ages)