Headpiece (page 123) from The Fables of Aesop

1818·Wood engraving from an illustrated book with 323 wood engravings and one etching and engraving·composition: 2 5/16 × 3 3/16" (5.8 × 8.1 cm); page (irreg.): 8 1/4 × 5 5/16" (21 × 13.5 cm)

Catalogue

Year: 1818
Medium: Wood engraving from an illustrated book with 323 wood engravings and one etching and engraving
Dimensions: composition: 2 5/16 × 3 3/16" (5.8 × 8.1 cm); page (irreg.): 8 1/4 × 5 5/16" (21 × 13.5 cm)
Collection: Museum of Modern Art
Artist: Thomas Bewick

Artist

Thomas Bewick

Printmaking

Thomas Bewick was a British engraver and naturalist whose wood-engraving technique revolutionized the medium in the late eighteenth century. Working primarily in boxwood, he developed a precision approach using the end-grain surface that allowed for unprecedented detail and tonal range, departing from the coarser line methods of traditional woodcut. His illustrated natural histories, including 'A History of British Birds' published in two volumes from 1797 to 1804, combined ornithological observation with technical virtuosity. Bewick's method became the standard for wood engraving across Europe and established him as a foundational figure in the medium's history.

England, UK

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