German Prints in the Later 1400s

The origins of printmaking are obscure, but two principal types flourished in the 1400s: woodcuts (printed from the surfaces of wooden blocks carved in relief) and engravings (printed from the recesses of grooves cut into copper plates). 

The names of many early practitioners are unknown, but a few masters became leaders in the field. Israhel van Meckenem (c. 1445-1503) was the first identifiable professional engraver. Martin Schongauer (c. 1440/53–1491) was the first great artist to make engravings. 

The 1490s brought a crescendo with the youthful Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), whose breathtaking skill and spectacular imagination fully established printmaking as a high art.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website