Frans Masereel (1889–1972)

"Hafenarbeiter" [Longshoremen/Stevedores], 1964, from "Das Gesicht Hamburgs"

Woodcut on handmade paper, pencil signed by the artist and signed with initials in the plate

Size: (sheet) 24.3 x 16 cm; (plate) 12.9 x 10.7 cm

Condition: Strong impression signed by the artist in pencil, in pristine condition with blank verso.

I am selling this original woodcut by one of the most important graphic novel (i.e. wordless book) illustrators for AU$135 in total (currently US$98.28/EUR86.90/GBP68.42 at the time of posting this print) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this visually arresting print—a truly superb example—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Masereel's woodcut prints are not designed to charm viewers with finely rendered details or dazzling technical effects. Instead, his prints are all about visual communication with as few chiselled strokes as are necessary. 

Although this assessment may suggest that Masereel's prints are therefore crude in concept and execution this is far from the truth; in fact, the converse is true. Masereel's prints are made with a clear eye to the essential pictorial elements needed to express his dark vision of the world. Moreover, the technical knowledge involved in the execution of his prints is likewise highly tuned to the sole purpose of projecting meaning. 

In this print, for instance, Masereel portrays smoke rising from the tugboat, shown towards the centre of the image, as a complex of curving lines angled to match the angles of the crane hooks suspended above. Regarding his treatment of water, he uses both positive lines (i.e. black lines) when the ripples are in the light and negative lines (i.e. white lines) when the ripples are in shadows.

Frans Masereel (1889–1972)

"Amsterdam"

Woodcut on cream wove paper, pencil signed by the artist and signed with initials in the plate.

Size: (sheet) 27.6 x 18.6 cm; (plate) 15.5 x 11.5 cm.

Condition: Strong impression signed by the artist in pencil, in excellent condition with blank verso.

I am selling this original woodcut by one of the most important graphic novel (i.e. wordless book) illustrators for AU$135 in total (currently US$98.42/EUR87.04/GBP68.49 at the time of posting this print) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this visually arresting print—a truly superb example—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

For those who share my interest in smoke, this print by Masereel exhibits one of the best graphic representations that one could hope to find. Smoke is a difficult substance to portray and it is even harder to portray convincingly. A part of the difficulty is that the essential properties of smoke that an artist needs to show is that it is fluid, transparent and intangible (amongst a host of other more subtle properties). The trickiest part of representing smoke is to suggest its amorphous form in perspective.

What makes this representation of smoke marvellous is that these principles are addressed so well that viewers have no difficulty in interpreting what the rising plume of curved lines portray. For those viewers who are fascinated by technical wizardry, note in particular how Masereel makes a seamless transition from negative lines (i.e. white lines) to positive lines (i.e. black lines).

Graphic strength: Frans Masereel

What underpins graphic strength in imagery?

The 1920s was a special time for graphic novels (i.e. narrative books featuring sequential images without text). This was the period when the first wordless books were published and one of the artists who played an instrumental role in promulgating this purely visual way of storytelling is Frans Masereel (1889–1972). Beyond Masereel’s role in revitalising the woodcut tradition for his book illustrations, a key attraction of his work and its influence on fellow illustrators (most notably Lynd Ward) is the graphic strength of his prints. By this term I mean that his prints have the very desirable attribute, especially in book illustration, of being able to catch and sustain a viewer’s attention and to express meaning clearly. The following discussion focuses on explaining this strength with regard to Maserreel's woodcut, Angel (see below).



Frans Masereel (1889–1972)

Angel, 1964 (illustration from Das Gesicht Hamburgs)

Pencil signed and signed with initials in the plate

Woodcut on handmade paper

12.9 x 10.7 cm (plate); 24.3 x 16 cm (sheet)

Condition: Strong impression and in pristine condition with blank verso. I am selling this print for $235 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you are interested or click the “Buy Now” button.

Broadly speaking, the graphic strength of this print rests with two properties: the simplicity of its composition to express meaning and the arresting use of line to portray light and dark. Regarding compositional simplicity, Masereel employs symmetry to divide the image centrally, by the vertical edge of a wall. More subtly, he also divides the image horizontally, by the alignment of distant ships (see below).

Vertical and horizontal divisions in Angel

Overlaying this formal arrangement and spanning from the top of the composition to its lower edge is a symmetrically placed “V”-shape created by the angle of the angel’s cross-topped lance and the angle of the angel's wing (see below). This “V”-shaped rhythm is the critical element giving the print its graphic potency and meaning. I see the perceived angles of the “V”-shape as inviting my eye downwards to a demon that the angel subjugates. In short, the simplicity of symmetry underpinning the composition draws a viewer's attention to the narrative of godliness trampling on evil.

  “V”-shape rhythm

 

Regarding Masereel’s use of line that gives the image its graphic strength, the arrangement of the composition is literally of pivotal importance. The vertical division in the composition (described above) is like a fulcrum balancing and separating the line work portraying a sunlit (moonlit?) harbour scene on the left side of the image from line work portraying a dark slice of architecture on the right. What makes the lines on the left so dramatically different to those on the right is the contrast between black lines (often described in technical terms as positive lines) shown on the left and white lines (negative lines) shown on the right. This contrast of two different types of lines separating the realm of light from that of darkness is not accidental. In fact it is so intentional that the effect takes a considerable foresight and effort.

To create the black lines on the left side of the image Masereel carefully cut away the woodblock so as to leave in relief those areas that were to be inked and printed as positive lines. This is a demanding process as each line to be printed must be rationalised as if it were an island-like shape on the block where the artist has not physically made a mark. Making the process even more demanding, each untouched shape on the block must also be viewed as a line shape that will ultimately be printed as a mirror image on a sheet. Fortunately the creation of white lines is much less demanding. To create these lines Masereel cut directly into the plate to create the void spaces that print as negative lines.

 

Graphically strong images, like Masereel’s Angel, consist of more than just compositional simplicity and bold contrast of line to attract and sustain a viewer’s interest. All the elements and principles of design play their roles in creating a memorable artwork. Nevertheless, these two components, when co-ordinated to address the same overriding meaning, are arguably the most important and the easiest to control by an artist.