What is Woodcut?
[[Image:Durer Revelation Four Riders.jpg|thumb|[[Albrecht Dürer]]'s woodcut, ''Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'' (1497-1498).]] A '''woodcut''' is a way of [[printing]]. An image is cut into a block of wood. The printing part remains level with the surface. The non-printing parts are removed, often with a tool called a gouge. The areas that are 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel. Therefore the wood still at the original surface level are black in the final print. The wood block is cut in the direction of the [[Wood grain|grain of the wood]]. In Europe [[beech]]wood was most commonly used. In Japan, a special type of [[cherry]] wood was used. The surface is covered with [[ink]]. It is rolled over the surface with an ink-covered roller (called a brayer). This leaves ink upon the flat surface, but none in the non-printing areas. Sometimes woodcuts are referred to by a [[formal]] word, xylography.{{clear}} ==Gallery of Asian woodcuts== <gallery> Image:WoodcutBuddaChina.jpg|Coloured woodcut [[Buddha]], 10th century, [[China]]. Image:Jiao zi.jpg|[[Jiaozi (currency)]], 10th century, [[Sichuan]], China. File:Ukiyo-e dragon 2.jpg|Dragon, Japanese [[ukiyo-e]] woodcut, c. 1750-1900. Image:Tranh_Đông_Hồ_-_Cá_chép.jpg|Modern woodcut Carp Painting, [[Dong Ho Painting]], [[Vietnam]]. </gallery> {{stub}} [[Category:Printmaking]]