Korstol fra Domkirken i Lund 1834 - 1866

Julius Magnus-Petersen made this print of a choir stall in Lund Cathedral. He employed a technique called wood engraving, working end-grain blocks of wood to create a surface that would yield very fine detail. Just look at the level of intricacy! The print captures the original carving: the floral motifs, the crisp edges of the architecture, the mythical creatures inhabiting the right-hand pillar. You can almost feel the different textures of the wood, from smooth, polished surfaces to rougher, more expressive areas. The process speaks to a tension. Wood engraving emerged as a way of visualizing objects, architecture, and design at a time of expanding industrial production, and mass media. The choir stall itself would have taken many hours of labor to carve. Magnus- Petersen's print freezes it, and allows its duplication in potentially limitless form. This print helps us appreciate the skill, labor, and cultural significance embedded in the original object. It challenges us to reconsider the hierarchies between 'high art' and 'craft', and the relationship between handmade and machine-made.