Renaissance Graphic Design

Renaissance Graphic Design

1. Renaissance Graphic Design
Graphic Design History

2. Printing comes to Europe

3. Johann Gensfleisch zum Gutenberg 
(1398
–
1468
CE)


4. Johann Gensfleisch  
zum Gutenberg 
(1398
–
1468
CE)

• Gutenberg
of
Mainz,
Germany
was
the

first to bring together the complex 
systems and subsystems necessary to 
print a typographic book around the 
year 1450 
• The
need for for exact alignment and the 
modest alphabet system
of
about
2

dozen
leDers
made
the
prin@ng of text 
material highly desirable in the West 
• Gutenberg appren@ced as a goldsmith,

developing
the
metalworking
and

engraving
skills
necessary
for
making
type

• Gutenberg used the square, compact 
textura leDering style commonly
used
by

German
scribes
of
his
day


5. Engraving
illustraJng
Gutenberg’s

system
for
casJng
type


6. Engraving
illustraJng

Gutenberg’s
system


for
casJng
type

• The
key
to
Gutenberg’s
invenJon
was
the

type mold used for cas@ng the individual 
leDers. 
• Each
character
had
to
be
plane parallel in 
every direc@on and the exact same height 
• Gutenberg’s
two‐type mold, which 
adjusted to accept matrixes for narrow 
leDers (I) and wide ones (H), permiDed 
large volumes of type to be cast. 
Gutenberg
needed
as
many
as
50,000

single
pieces
of
type
at
a
Jme.


• With a background as a goldsmith, 
Gutenberg developed a unique alloy of
80

percent
lead,
5
percent
Jn,
and
15
percent

anJmony
so
that
the
metal
would
not

expand
or
contract
too
much
when
it
was

created



7. Gutenberg,
thirty‐one line leDers of indulgence,
1454


8. Gutenberg,
thirty‐one line 
leDers of indulgence,
1454

• Early examples of typographic design 
and prin@ng include a German poem 
on
the
Last
Judgment,
four calendars,

and
a
number
of
ediJons
of
a
La@n 
grammar
book
by
Donatus.


• The
earliest
dated
specimens
are
the

1454 leDers of indulgence issued
in

Mainz.
Pope Nicholas V issued this 
pardon of sins to all Chris@ans who 
had given money to support the war 
against the Turks.

• Thousands of copies of this leDer 
were printed. 
• Gutenberg made every effort to 
imitate handwriDen calligraphy 

9. Johann
Gutenberg,
The Gutenberg Bible,
1450
‐55


10. Johann
Gutenberg

The Gutenberg Bible

1450
‐55

• Gutenberg conceived the idea of 
prin@ng a Bible which was to be the 
first printed book and
one
of
the
finest

examples
of
the
printer’s
art

• 1,282 pages in a two‐volume work. 
210 copies consisted
of
180
on
paper

and
30
on
fine
vellum,
requiring
5,000

carefully
prepared
calfskins.


• Generous number of alterna@ve 
characters and ligatures (stroke
that

joins
adjacent
leDers)
enabled

Gutenberg
to
achieve
the
richness
and

variety
of
the
manuscript
page

• Blank spaces were leY for decora@ve 
ini@als to be drawn in later by a scribe 

11. Page from the Gutenberg Bible 

12. Detail from the Gutenberg Bible 

13.    Detail from the Gutenberg Bible 

14. The German Illustrated Book

15. Ex Libris design for Johannes Knabensberg,
1450s


16. Ex Libris design for 
Johannes Knabensberg

1450s

• AYer Gutenberg’s inven@on of movable type, prin@ng 
spread rapidly in Europe. By
1500
prinJng
was
pracJced

in
over
140
towns.
This period between 1450 – 1500 is 
known as the incunabula period (incunabula
is
a
laJn

word
and
refers
to
the
birth
of
prinJng)

• It is es@mated that 9 million books were printed 
between 1450 and 1500.
In
addiJon,
other
printed

materials
were
produced
for
free
distribuJon
or
sale.


• Early in the incunabula period, a printed  ex libris, or 
bookplate was pasted in the front of a book to iden@fy 
the owner. As
prinJng
spread
from
Mainz,
so
did
the
use 
of a printer’s trademark as a visual iden@fier. 
• The inscrip@on means “Hans Igler that the hedgehog 
may kiss you”. Igler,
Knabensberg’s
nickname,
is
similar

to
the
German
word
for
hedgehog,
making
this
an
early

graphic
pun.


17. Anton
Koberger,
page from the Nuremberg Chronicle,
1493


18. Anton
Koberger,
page from the 
Nuremberg Chronicle,
1493

• Nuremberg, a prosperous center of commerce 
and distribu@on, became a prin@ng center 
during the incunabula period  
• One of the most esteemed printers was Anton 
Koberger (1440
–
1513)
whose
firm
was
staffed

by
100
cra\smen
operaJng
24
prinJng
presses

• Koberger was also a bookseller with over 16 
shops and agents throughout Europe 
• One of Koberger’s masterpieces is the 
Nuremberg Chronicle with 1809 woodcut 
illustra@ons. Major ci@es of the world were 
illustrated, as well as 598 portraits of popes, 
kings, and other historical figures. 
• The dense textures and rounded strokes of 
Koberger’s Gothic type contrast with the tones 
of the woodcuts 

19. Anton
Koberger, Page from 
the Nuremberg Chronicle,

1493


20. Judith beheading Holofernes,

illustraJon
from
the
Nuremberg

Chronicle,
1493


21. Judith beheading Holofernes,

illustraJon
from
the

Nuremberg
Chronicle,
1493

• Judith beheading Holofernes is a 
story from the Bible 
• In
the
story,
Judith, a beau@ful 
widow enters the tent of the 
A Holofernes 
because
of
his
desire
for
her.


• Holofernes is about to destroy 
Judith’s home of Behulia, so when 
he passes out from too much 
alcohol, she decapitates him and

takes
his
head
away
in
a
basket.


• Judith has been a popular subject 
in art and
has
been
depicted
in
over

114
painJngs
and
sculptures
in

history.
Today,
she
is
considered
to

be
a
feminist
icon.


22. Albrecht
Dürer

The Four Horsemen 
of the Apolcalypse 
woodcut,
1498


23. Albrecht
Dürer

The Four Horsemen of 
the Apolcalypse 
woodcut,
1498

• Albrecht Dürer (1471
–
1528)
grew up near Anton 
Koberger and
it
is
likely
that
he
worked
on
the

Nuremberg
Chronicle.
Dürer
used
Koberger’s
type

that
he
created.

• Dürer was a goldsmith appren@ce 
• In 1498 Dürer published La@n and German 
edi@ons of The Apocalypse illustrated by his 
monumental sequence of fiYeen woodcuts 
• The Apocalypse has an unprecedented emo@onal 
power and graphic expressiveness 
• Volume and depth, light and shadow, texture and 
surface are created by black ink on white paper,

which
becomes
a
metaphor
for
light
in
a
turbulent

world
of
awesome
powers


24. Albrecht
Dürer,
broadside,
woodcut
illustraJon,
1515


25. Albrecht
Dürer 
Broadside,
woodcut

illustraJon

1515

• In
his
mature
work,
he achieved mastery in 
the use of line as tone. 
• A broadside is a single‐leaf page printed on 
one side that eventually evolved into 
printed posters, adver@sements, and 
newspapers,
and
Dürer’s
were
very
popular.



• His woodcut illustra@on of a rhinoceros is 
from a sketch and descrip@on sent from 
Spain,
a\er
the
first
rhinoceros
in
over
1,000

years
arrived
in
Europe




26. Albrect
Dürer,
from A Course in the Art of Measurement with 
Compass and Ruler,
1525


27. Albrect
Dürer,
from A 
Course in the Art of 
Measurement with 
Compass and Ruler

1525

• Dürer traveled to Venice, Italy twice in his life, 
where he absorbed humanist philosophy and 
Italian Renaissance art theories and techniques  
• This inspired his book A Course in the Art of 
Measurement with Compass and Ruler 
(Underweissung der Messung mit dem Zirckel 
and Richtscheyt)

• The first two chapters are theore@cal 
discussions of linear geometry and 2‐D 
geometric construc@ons. The third chapter 
explains the applica@on of geometry to 
architecture, decora@on, engineering, and 
leDerforms.  
• Dürer’s
beau@fully propor@oned Roman 
capitals, with
clear
instrucJon
for
their

composiJon,
contributed significantly to the 
evolu@on of alphabet design.   

28. Printer’s
Trademark

Late
15
th

Century


29. Andreas
Torresanus

Printer’s Trademark 
Late
15
th

Century

• During the Italian Renaissance, Venice led the 
way in Italian typographic book design,
not

Florence
where
the
wealthy
Medicis
scorned

prinJng
as
inferior
to
manuscript
books

• Many early printers
designed trademarks to 
iden@fy their books. This
one
is
aDributed
to

Andreas
Torresanus
(1451
–
1529). 
• The
emblem
bears
witness
to
the
revived 
aDen@on to Egyp@an hieroglyphics during the 
Renaissance.


• One
of
the
oldest
symbolic
themes,
the orb and 
cross is found in a chamber of Cheops’s pyramid 
at Giza,
where
it
was
a
quarry
mark

• Symbolizes that “God shall reign over earth”.  

30. Johannes
Nicolai
de
Verona,
pages from Roberto Valturio’s De Re militari,
1472


31. Johannes
Nicolai
de
Verona,


pages from Roberto Valturio’s  
De Re militari,
1472

• Johannes Nicolai de Verona printed a 
manual on warfare by
Robert
Valturio

• The light contour style of woodblock 
illustra@on ini@ated the fine‐line style 
that became popular in Italian graphic 
design during
the
late
15
th

Century

• This
book
demonstrates
the
latest 
techniques and devices for scaling 
walls, catapul@ng missiles, ramming 
for@fica@ons, and torturing enemies.


• In
this
spread
showing
baDering
rams,

the repe@@on of towers and rams’ 
heads gives the pages a lively visual 
rhythm 

32. Henri
EsJenne
the
Elder

Title page for Aristotle’s 
Metaphysics,
1515


33. Henri
EsJenne
the
Elder

Title page for Aristotle’s 
Metaphysics,
1515

• StarJng
in
1494,
the French tried to 
conquer Italy for fiYy years and the 
cultural vitality of the Italian Renaissance 
was imported to France.
In
1515,
Francis
I

ascended
to
the
French
throne
and
the

French
Renaissance
flowered
as
he
gave

generous
support
to
humanist,
authors,
and

visual
arJsts.

• This cultural epoch was fer@le for book 
design and prin@ng 
• Henri Es@enne the Elder was one of the 
early French scholar‐printers 
• Inspired
by
Italian
Renaissance
style,
Henri

EsJenne
the
Elder
used roman type and set 
the type in geometric shapes,
achieving
a

disJncJve
graphic
design
with
minimal

means


34. Geoffroy
Tory,
pages from Books of Hours,
1541


35. Geoffroy
Tory,
pages from 
Books of Hours,
1541

• Geoffroy Tory (1480
–
1533)
was
a
French
designer,

illustrator,
printer,
bookseller,
author,
poet,

publisher,
calligrapher,
and
engraver.
In the graphic 
arts, he played a major role in impor@ng the 
Italianate influence and then developing a unique 
French Renaissance style of book design and 
illustra@on. 
• His
Horae
(Books
of
Hours)
set
the
style
for
the
era.

A
new
clarity
of
thought
and
a
precise harmony of 
text, capital ini@als, borders , and illustra@ons, 
mark the book as a milestone in graphic design. 
• Tory
achieved
a
light, delicate effect in the complex 
illustra@ons of plant and animal mo@fs by using a 
fine contour line which echoes
the
typographic

lightness.


• The crowned F (boDom
le\)
is an homage to King 
Francis I who
named
him
as
printer
to
the
king.



36. Geoffroy
Tory

Fantas@c alphabet 
1529


37. Geoffroy
Tory

Fantas@c alphabet 
1529

• Tory
published
a
series of three books en@tled 
Champ Fleury in 1529. It was his most important 
and influen@al work. 
• The
first book aDempts to establish and order 
French grammar by
fixed
rules
of
pronunciaJon

and
speech
(Tory
introduced
the
use
of
the

apostrophe
and
accents).
The second book 
discusses the history of roman leDers. 
• The
third
book
offers instruc@ons in the geometric 
construc@on of the 23 leDers of the La@n 
alphabet. 
• The
third
book
also
contains
Tory’s designs for 13 
alphabets, including Greek, Hebrew, Persian and 
his fantasy style made of hand tools. 
• The
A
is
a
compass,
the
B
is
a
fusy
used
to
start

fires,
and
the
C
is
a
handle



38. Henri
EsJenne
the
Younger

Title page from Ciceronianum Lexicon 
1557


39. Henri
EsJenne
the
Younger

Title page from 
Ciceronianum Lexicon 
1557

• During the 1530s, 40s, and 50s, the 
Es@ennes achieved a wide reputa@on as 
great printers. 
• The
types
used
in
the
book
are Claude 
Garamond’s roman typefaces.
They
were

designed
with
such
perfecJon
that

French
printers
in
the
16
th

Century
were

able
to
print
books
of
extraordinary

legibility
and
beauty.


• Headings are set in single lines of 
leDerspaced capitals alterna@ng with 
lines of lowercase. 
• The illustra@on depicts an olive tree 
with branches falling off by Es@enne.  
• 



40. Johann
Oporinus,
page from De Humani Corporis Fabrica,
1543


41. Johann
Oporinus

page from De Humani 
Corporis Fabrica,
1543

• Basel, which became part of Switzerland in 
1501, developed into a major center for 
graphic design. 
• Johann Oporinus became a leading printer 
in Basel. 
• His
masterpiece
was
the
667 page folio De 
Humani Corporis Fabrica (Construc@on of 
the Human Body) by the founder of 
modern anatomy, Andreas Vesalius. 
• The illustra@ons are woodcuts with

remarkable
clarity
and
accuracy

• Many
of
the
anatomical figures are 
gracefully posed in landscapes. 
• Oporinus set Vesaliu’s text in @ght pages of 
roman text