August 4th, 2018 : 1649 Woodblock

[xoxoxoBruce]

This looks like a distorted picture on a Black and White TV, but it’s a print from a wood block on fabric.
What would be distortion on a CRT is what I’m guessing is an attempt to make the fabric print look more 3-D.
The kicker is the block was not only hand carved, he did it the hardest way possible... one line.

Claude Mellan - Face of Christ on St. Veronica’s Cloth - 1649 AD
This woodblock print by Claude Mellan, deserves an explanation. The print is a tour-de-force of technique. If you look at the enlargement closely, you can see - starting at the nose - that the entire image - face, background fabric, lettering, etc. - is formed from a single engraved line.

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