Saint Catherine of Alexandria 1460 - 1470

This small image of Saint Catherine of Alexandria was likely made using woodblock printing, with added hand-coloring. Look closely, and you’ll see the slightly irregular lines typical of this process, which was a relatively inexpensive way to produce images. The block was painstakingly carved, then inked and pressed onto paper. The application of color by hand would have been an additional labor. Note how economical it is: just a few strokes for her rosy cheeks, her golden hair, the blue sky, and the symbolic wheel that identifies her. Woodblock printing had a huge social impact: it made images far more accessible to a wide public. The process wasn't about the unique touch of an artist, but rather a reproducible, distribute-able, and affordable image. Thinking about this artwork in terms of its materials, making, and context, helps us appreciate the cultural significance of an image made available through craft and design.