#viking studio

[uwmspeccoll]

Wood Engraving Wednesday

Here are four wood-engraved allegorical figures by American artist, illustrator, wood engraver, book designer, and fine-press publisher Barry Moser (b. 1940) from his magnum opus Holy Bible published in 1999. This production includes 232 original wood-engraved illustrations by Moser. These images come from the first Viking Studio edition, which is a reproduction of the two-volume, limited Pennyroyal-Caxton fine-press edition which we also hold. Shown here are:

The Destroyer, the divine agent of God's judgment from Exodus 12:23: "When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down."

Wisdom from Proverbs 9: "Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. . . ."

The Man With the Inkhorn, part of a vision where this man, along with five others, goes through Jerusalem to mark the foreheads of those who grieve over the city's wickedness, from Ezekiel 9:2: "And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate . . . and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. . . ."

The Angel of the Apocalypse, refers to the 7th and final angel in Revelation 10, who commands John to eat a book he is given: "He said to me, 'Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.' . . . Then I was told, 'You must prophesy again before many peoples, nations, languages and kings.'"

These images from the Viking trade edition are the same as the original wood engravings in the Pennyroyal-Caxton edition, except for The Angel of the Apocalypse which is represented by a different illustration in the limited edition. We like the Viking rendition better.

Our copy of the Viking Studio Edition bears Moser's signed presentation inscription to our library on October 11, 1999, the official date of issue for this edition.

View other posts from the Moser Bible.

View more posts on works by Barry Moser.

View more posts with wood engravings!

[archivist-dragonfly]

Book 516

Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters - New and Expanded Edition

David Hockney

Viking Studio 2006

With the exception of his photo collages (which I think are incredible), I have never been much of a David Hockney (b. 1937) fan. His paintings just never really did much for me. That all changed with this book. Taking two years off from painting, Hockney devoted himself to trying to answer some artistic technical questions—to wit: how were the Renaissance masters able to reproduce what they saw with such detailed accuracy? His investigation would eventually lead to what is now known as the Hockney-Falco Thesis. Briefly, the Thesis states that in addition to advancements in materials and techniques, the Old Masters also utilized new scientific innovations such as cameras obscura, cameras lucida, and curved mirrors to achieve the incredible level of detail. This, of course, led to a rather heated debate among not just art historians but also scientists that is still ongoing. The upshot is that after reading this book, I have an entirely new respect for Hockney and his work. It isn’t that I necessarily like his paintings any more than I did, but I do see them in an entirely new light.