Maximilian I Hearing Mass 1510 - 1520

Hans Weiditz the Younger made this print, Maximilian I Hearing Mass, in the 16th century, using woodcut on paper. Look closely, and you’ll see that the quality of line isn't quite as precise as you might see in an engraving, where a sharp tool is used to directly incise a metal plate. Instead, Weiditz had to laboriously cut away the wood around each line, leaving the design standing in relief. This would have been a demanding process requiring patience and skill. Although woodcuts were relatively inexpensive to produce, their dependence on manual dexterity meant that the social status of the printmaker wasn't especially high. Consider how this painstaking method, in which the artist is effectively carving away at the material, affects the overall appearance of the print. The contrast between the dense, inky blacks and the stark white of the paper gives the image a striking graphic quality. This bold, economical aesthetic suggests the intersection of craft, design, and materiality that challenges traditional boundaries between high art and craft.