MODERN \VoomENGRAVtNG. The great dif ference between early and modern w•ood-eagrav ings is that the latter is done on the end of the grain on the wood, which is sawed crosswise, instead of the side of the wood sawed lengthwise. The J:nrface being therefore mire]] harder, it is done with a graver instead of a Boxwood, the hardest variety of wool and most regular in grain, is generally used instead of the ancient pear or apple. It is not certain by whom these new• methods were in vented, but they were used with greatest success in England by Thomas llowiek (1753 18'25), who is the real founder of modern wood engraving. Thy most eh a ract..ristie ture of his work, which is indeed the essential feature of modern engraving, is the uniform use of the while line the design being formed of the part. cut away from the block, instead of the part left standing, an formerly. This practice was made feasible by the substitution of the graver for the knife, and was not invented by Bewick, as is commonly supposed. Ile possessed, moreover, a very remarkable originality of de sign, and his works possess a pathetic intensity which renders them singularly attractive, quite aside from their high technical merit. llis best productions are the illustrations to British. Quad rupeds (17911), British Birds (1797), and a large engraving, the "Chillingham Bull." Con temporary with Bewic•k, William Blake produced au original and artistic set of illustrations, though defective in technique, for Thornton's edition of Vergil's Pastorals (1820).
In the hands of Bewiek's pupils the woodcut became a serious: rival of line engraving in the illustration of important literary works. Charlton Nesbit and Luke Clennell practiced it with great merit. the former excelling in line, the latter in arti,:tie feeling. Robert Branston, on the other hand, founded a school whieh imi tated copper engraving, relying upon the black line rather than the white. John 'Thompson en graved, though with independence. after the de signs of the line engraver John Thurston, and in the works of Orrin Smith and William Harvey wood-engraving lost its distinctive The illustrated newspapers and magazines, bringing the need of rapid production, caused a still further decline of the art. The engraver became
a mere artisan. In vain did W. J. Linton en deavor to introduce the practice of rendering artists' drawings by lines; conceived and arranged by the engrave• himself. The influence of the American school Nee below) failed to revive it, lint finally led to a complete preference on the part of the public for the more accurate photo graphic processes.
The revival of wood-engraving in Germany be gins at the end of the eighteenth century with the two Urgers, father and son. professors in the Berlin Academy, whose work, however, was still done with the knife, and especially with their successors, Gultitz and Unzelmann. Of very great influence were the blocks designed by Adolf Men zel for the illustration of different works on Frederick the Great. engraved by the Vogel. Eduard Kretzschmar, and others. Otlif.r prominent Wood-engravers of the nineteenth cen tury were Blasius Idafel in Vienna ; Allgaier and Siegle, who engraved Nanlbaeh's Beyuard the For (1803); Bfirkner and Gabner, the engravers of Ludwig R,ichte•'s desigms: and especially. at the present time, Max Klinkicht in Freilmrg. German wood-engraving is precise and careful in execution. but rather harsh in color. The colored prints from woodcuts now so extensively produeed in Germany are not an artistic success.
The founders of the modern French school were ('hordes Thompson. a pupil of John Thomp son, and the Frenchmen Best and Breviere. During the reign of Louis Philippe important masters designed for woodcuts, such as Grand ville, Gavarni, and Tony Johannot, and of very great influence upon its development was Gus tav Dore (q.v.), whose illustrations occupied a number of engravers, alli0Dg the best of whom were l'annemaker (Ms), Ligny, and Triton. Repre sentative engravers of the present day are Le pere, Baimde, Jonnard, and Jules Ilnyot, ac to mention Florian (d.1909), who achieved remark able effects of tone. The chief living master is probably Stephan Pannemaker, whose style is as brilliant as it is grand and robust. Artistic dash, intelligent use of the graver, and the achieve ment of tone are in fact the strongest points of the French school. which at present enjoys a higher perfection than any other in Europe.