Woodblock - woodcut

Relief print methods using inked blocks of wood with a design incised with a graver, tint tool or scorpor. Woodblock and woodcut printing were the earliest methods used for making relief prints and were first used to produce illustrated books in China in 7th Century A.D. They differ from each other in that a woodblock has a transverse cut or end grain of the hardest part of the block. A woodcut is a cut longitudinally and has parallel grain. Woodblock and woodcut engraving differ from other print methods in that the design is from the positive space and not the negative. The earliest woodblock prints appeared in Europe in the 15th century. Americans began to use this art form in the last quarter of the 19th century as a result of the influence of Japanese prints. Arthur Dow was the most famous American artist to promote this method. Sources: Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art""Joel Oppenheimer" 35th Anniversary Catalogue, 2004, of the Natural Art Gallery; Anne Gilbert, "American Illustrator Art". (LPD)