Cholla and Sahuaro, block #2

Artist Gustave Baumann (American, 1881–1971)

Dateabout 1925

Mediumbasswood block

Dimensions33.1 x 33.2 cm (block)

ClassificationsArtists' Materials

Credit LineAnonymous Fund

Terms

Object number1989.164.9

Label TextGustave Baumann (1881-1971) Like a common rubber stamp, woodcuts are a relief process whereby the inked areas on the print reflect the raised contours on a woodblock. Often made from trees like maple or boxwood, finished woodblocks are the result of scrapping away wood and leaving only those lines to be printed. One of the earliest known printmaking techniques, woodcuts served as the principal medium for illustration by the mid-fifteenth century. Since moveable type is also a relief process, a woodblock and text can easily reside side-by-side on a flat-bed printing press. Gustave Baumann became a prominent force in the early twentieth-century woodcut revival. A master with multiple color blocks, Baumann generally printed from darker to lighter, nearly always starting with the black lines, as in Cholla and Sahuaro (about 1925). In this case , the blue ink block followed since it covers the greatest surface of the print and serves as Baumann’s “key block.” ProvenanceAnn Baumann, the artist's daughter

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