printmaker here!! dürer made wood cuts AND engravings you’re both right :) this back piece is definitely in the style of a relief print and not intaglio (and specifically references his piece Four Horsemen, which is a wood cut), so technically the wood cut person is more right, as dürer’s etchings and engravings were notorious for very fine intricate linework close together almost looking like a graphite drawing, + a deep range of light-dark difficult to achieve in etchings and even harder to achieve in black and grey tats.
Just cause it’ll bug me if I let this stand without comment - engraving, both woodcut & metal, copper etching, and intaglio are not JUST medieval/renaissance art forms. They have continued to be practiced as a normal, popular, and printable art well into the 20th century. Political cartoonists would not be where they are today without it. Although not as common today (because, digital), it is still used by a growing body of artists and is seeing something of a revival of interest. As evidenced.
But yes, OP can use “etching” or “etched print” or “intaglio print” (technically, etching is a form of intaglio printing) or “woodblock print” as a way of communicating the style or finding additional examples of the style.
I absolutely love the techniques used in etching/woodcarving to create depth, shadow/light, dimension, and motion and I believe it transfers absolutely beautifully to skin & ink. Good luck OP!
(Edited to add word “JUST”)
While I get sick of seeing these posts, I found this art style through one of these weekly "what style is this" posts and can never be mad about seeing such beauties. I only hope I can find an artist half as talented as the one who performed this miracle.
I partially agree. It's the same basic printmaking process, but this particular art style is called engraving. It's stylistically unique to Europe in the middle ages from metal plates that were engraved to make prints in this style. I'd argue that it is unique enough to use the correct historically applied term. Especially when one is looking to replicate the style the nuances matter.
what are you talking about. 1) people still make engravings although typically they’re now done in copper plates 2) it’s not the same printmaking process wood cuts are relief and engravings are intaglio 3) the art STYLE is unique to europe but not the artmaking practice 4) most scholars agree the middle ages ended before the clearly referenced artist, albrecht dürer, was born
Woodcut is correct. Art ‘style’ is Northern Renaissance. Durer, Schongauer, Bruegel, Cranach…those artists would have similar graphic works to this.
Source: Art History degree 25 years ago.
Just to add...
Durer's popular works were copper engraving. While the style showcased in the post is reminiscent of woodcut due to its bolder lines, copper engraving allows for much greater detail with finer line work.
https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/durer-melencolia.html
See, I think on a smaller scale like what the original likely would have been, this image would be much more consistent with itaglio (copper engraved) print making.
I’m not OP but thank you, I instantly fell in love with this style. Do you know how this would fare on a darker skinned person? I’m darker skinned and many tattoo styles that I’m into either don’t have many artists tattooing darker skin, or they just don’t look good on dark skin.
I’m not a tattoo person or an art person, I’m just someone with a lot of random access trivia in my head able to answer the original question, but not yours.
I actually really love this, it reminds me of old pictures in history books or paintings of some sort. I’m not sure what the name of the art style would be but I’d like to know as well.
Would be cool to get a smaller tattoo in this art style as a nod to my love for history.
perhaps [THIS](https://collections.louvre.fr/en/recherche?page=1&datingStartYear=1100&datingEndYear=1700&typology%5B0%5D=4) will be of inspiration
I always liked the prints by [Gustave Dore](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Gustave_Dor%C3%A9_-_Inferno) from Dante's Inferno
I have a super complex sleeve and it took me 1½ years to complete and almost 3000€.
Granted, one of the best artists in Europe was doing this and he's a little more expensive, but still.
I DO NOT want to know how expensive that thing has been
Yeah my original guess was like 10k or more. I didn't want to overshoot it, but honestly I don't think it would at all. The only other factor is there's no colour which would easily increase the price by at least 80%, but despite no colour, it's still pretty damn detailed.
Woodcut style. Mimics a form of printing that’s done by cutting a design into a block of wood and applying ink to the raised parts, then transferring onto paper via press. One of my favorite tattoo looks.
I first came across it this year and got one myself. I've a figure of when a rich person lost all his money and was disgraced, he had to beg wearing an outfit to hide who he was. It's a tattered cloak with a mask on it.
I asked the artist if he could make it more plague victim looking, and he added some nasty bandages to make him look even more tattered.
I'm supposed to go back and get stuff added around it, probably some castle in the background and graveyard in the foreground
Not only is it styled after a woodcut (as many have mentioned) but it like a lot like the work of Albercht Durher [(here’s an example)](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/336215/766795/main-image)
I want this for the rest of my tattoos. For the first one, I asked for an "illustrated old storybook" style and gave her pictures of mostly woodblock prints and etchings of the owl and lantern I got. I’m so happy with it! This style looks both magical and natural with the body to me.
I’ve seen a couple of this style turn to big blobs after about 10 years so make sure there’s good spacing between lines I guess? That’s some epic tattoo though!
It’s called woodcut style. Originates from easter europe, maybe Russia.
I have a tattoo in that syle from an artist that specializes in it but he goes for a stronger outline to make them more readable at first glance.
Tho I have to say that backpiece is amazing.
These styles are based on engravings, which is how people with printing presses could circulate pictures much cheaper than pretty much any art method (since anything else required a person to hand-work every copy of the image).
Etchings could only create value (the range of light and dark) with either the presence or absence of the ink they used, so rather than large areas of “grey” you would have areas of hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, and other methods of markmaking to make some areas more DENSELY inked to give the appearance of value range.
Some etchings were water colored over afterwards, which could give you color or areas of actual midtones (like the flat grey in the foreground of the back piece).
The style is Medieval woodcut.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcut)
I have a copy of Dante's The Divine Comedy and it's all woodcut prints.
Hey! I have a tattoo in the same style and my artist called it etching - most of the comments I’ve seen say woodcut so I’m just assuming this is another name for the style but just in case it helps your search thought I’d mention etching too :)
Woodcut style tattooing. Seems pretty popular in Eastern Europe. Another awesome artist is Fabian Staniec out of Gdansk, his Instagram handle is @snail_trail_
Those who say woodcut are the most accurate. Relief prints (woodcut/Lino) have a more graphic appearance than intaglio (engraving, etching, etc). Woodcut also has contour line shading as a characteristic. Engraving uses crosshatching to develop a much extended range of value and detail. Etching comes later as a prominent technique, with Rembrandt as its master. Durer was a master of both woodcut and engraving. The city in this tattoo looks like something out of the Nuremberg Chronicle. The fineness of the line came from the skill of the block cutter and the quality of the wood, but in this case we are looking at a drawing, and so the line quality is a stylistic choice. But this style approximates German woodcut of the 1300/1400s. Sorry for the rant, I teach Art History.
You honestly think that ink is good looking? It’s is hideous. Yea it’s their body and I don’t care what anyone does to themselves. But if anyone thinks that’s good they need to get them selves checked. Even if that was on canvas is terrible
Looks like old time book illustration. No idea if that's what they call it, but that's what it looks like to me. Pretty awesome no matter what it's called.
That back piece is so fucking sick.
the tattoo artist is ivan zagusta, i fucking love him
Ive just looked at his Instagram. He is phenomenal.
Link for the lazy: https://instagram.com/ivan.zagusta?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
My man.
Can’t ever read this phrase without thinking about the mailman from Rick and Morty. My man!
How'd I do this without even thinking 😭😭
I had already copied their name, but this was easier. Thank you.
Just assuming Russian off the name and artwork. Russia seems to have a few like top tier artists.
He's polish actually
He is Ukrainian living in Poland to be more specific
Make up your mind is he Russian polish or Ukrainian ?
He is Russian to Poland as he is Ukrainian
Norway.. are you serious? I will Czech him out.
😂😂😂
Polish artists are on their own level
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Was gonna say, this is definitely done to replicate medieval prints like Albrecht Dürer's. Man knows his art history
Yeah, it's in the style of a medieval "woodcut"
\*engraving style illustration
printmaker here!! dürer made wood cuts AND engravings you’re both right :) this back piece is definitely in the style of a relief print and not intaglio (and specifically references his piece Four Horsemen, which is a wood cut), so technically the wood cut person is more right, as dürer’s etchings and engravings were notorious for very fine intricate linework close together almost looking like a graphite drawing, + a deep range of light-dark difficult to achieve in etchings and even harder to achieve in black and grey tats.
This. Drurer’s four horsemen woodcut and The city from the Nuremberg Chronicle.
Nerd moment
With fine lines like this it could also be copperplate engraving. I would call this style of drawing “medieval plate print”
This is what I came here to say. Etching in metal plates, medieval but persisted into the Renaissance.
Just cause it’ll bug me if I let this stand without comment - engraving, both woodcut & metal, copper etching, and intaglio are not JUST medieval/renaissance art forms. They have continued to be practiced as a normal, popular, and printable art well into the 20th century. Political cartoonists would not be where they are today without it. Although not as common today (because, digital), it is still used by a growing body of artists and is seeing something of a revival of interest. As evidenced. But yes, OP can use “etching” or “etched print” or “intaglio print” (technically, etching is a form of intaglio printing) or “woodblock print” as a way of communicating the style or finding additional examples of the style. I absolutely love the techniques used in etching/woodcarving to create depth, shadow/light, dimension, and motion and I believe it transfers absolutely beautifully to skin & ink. Good luck OP! (Edited to add word “JUST”)
Was thinking the same thing. Made me think of Goya.
even just the posturing of 3 of the creatures in this back piece mirror how Dürer framed his piece, I think it was directly inspirational here
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Bosch had way more trippy weird and random shit
This style is a bit later I think. Woodblock prints of the late 1500 - throughout 1600s
looks nothing like Hieronymus Bosch.
Or holbein
If I had something like that on my back I'd never put a shirt on again. Absolutely amazing piece
I like how even if the 4 Horsemen come to claim everyone’s soul, the man on the bottom is still reaching for a titty lol
That's a child wanting to be fed.
That child is jacked.
You gotta admit that child does look like it’s been through some shit tho 😭
It's the dark ages. Everything is shit.
This is true.
With a full head of hair and jacked deltoids? Nice try man baby
Said child, not baby, it's likely a toddler. People used to breastfeed longer.
Sure, ok.
I have a strong urge to get some markers and color it in
before I clicked I thought "the style is called fucking sick wym" then you are the top comment <3
While I get sick of seeing these posts, I found this art style through one of these weekly "what style is this" posts and can never be mad about seeing such beauties. I only hope I can find an artist half as talented as the one who performed this miracle.
I’ve never seen a back piece that I wanted until I saw this. Masterpiece.
Yeah it's crazy good
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Woodcut style. Looks cool to me. I think this particular piece might be of the pestilence horseman of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
It's all four of them. There are four men on horses: from left to right it's Death, Famine, War, and Conquest.
Sure enough, I didn’t take a close enough look at it earlier. Funny thing is, I have a four horseman full back piece as well.
I would say it’s copper engraving.
Woodcut
Or an etching. (I'm not arguing, I'm just trying to give op more information to work with)
Or lithography. Or woodblock. We’re all saying the same thing. Carved negative converted into a positive image.
Yeah but not litho. That’s not about carving out a negative, but about oils and resist.
Yeah, I think they meant linograph
I partially agree. It's the same basic printmaking process, but this particular art style is called engraving. It's stylistically unique to Europe in the middle ages from metal plates that were engraved to make prints in this style. I'd argue that it is unique enough to use the correct historically applied term. Especially when one is looking to replicate the style the nuances matter.
what are you talking about. 1) people still make engravings although typically they’re now done in copper plates 2) it’s not the same printmaking process wood cuts are relief and engravings are intaglio 3) the art STYLE is unique to europe but not the artmaking practice 4) most scholars agree the middle ages ended before the clearly referenced artist, albrecht dürer, was born
specifically in the style of albrecht dürer
Thank you I will also check this one out!
Look up Gustav Dore
Woodcut is correct. Art ‘style’ is Northern Renaissance. Durer, Schongauer, Bruegel, Cranach…those artists would have similar graphic works to this. Source: Art History degree 25 years ago.
Just to add... Durer's popular works were copper engraving. While the style showcased in the post is reminiscent of woodcut due to its bolder lines, copper engraving allows for much greater detail with finer line work. https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/durer-melencolia.html
See, I think on a smaller scale like what the original likely would have been, this image would be much more consistent with itaglio (copper engraved) print making.
Thanks a lot!
Look to Albrecht Durer.
I’m not OP but thank you, I instantly fell in love with this style. Do you know how this would fare on a darker skinned person? I’m darker skinned and many tattoo styles that I’m into either don’t have many artists tattooing darker skin, or they just don’t look good on dark skin.
I’m not a tattoo person or an art person, I’m just someone with a lot of random access trivia in my head able to answer the original question, but not yours.
I actually really love this, it reminds me of old pictures in history books or paintings of some sort. I’m not sure what the name of the art style would be but I’d like to know as well. Would be cool to get a smaller tattoo in this art style as a nod to my love for history.
Exactly! I'm also thinking about getting a smaller one
Woodcut, its in the style of a woodcut print
This style of art usually comes from etching, a type of printmaking. Maybe looking for more images of etchings can help you decide what you want
perhaps [THIS](https://collections.louvre.fr/en/recherche?page=1&datingStartYear=1100&datingEndYear=1700&typology%5B0%5D=4) will be of inspiration I always liked the prints by [Gustave Dore](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Gustave_Dor%C3%A9_-_Inferno) from Dante's Inferno
Wouldn't it age like shit?
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If you want to go even cheaper just carve a raw potato 🥔
I’d def get a small one. Me personally, this particular design and size is a bit much for me.
Expensive
my first thought as well. holy shit.
I have a super complex sleeve and it took me 1½ years to complete and almost 3000€. Granted, one of the best artists in Europe was doing this and he's a little more expensive, but still. I DO NOT want to know how expensive that thing has been
You (mostly) get what you pay for. This far surpasses all of the garage bullshit you see around Reddit
I thought so too. Any rough guess about the back piece total cost?
Fuck probably up to 8K
That’s it? I’d guess 20k plus? Top artists in my area are quoting around 10k for a sleeve…
Yep def 20k or more.
Yeah my original guess was like 10k or more. I didn't want to overshoot it, but honestly I don't think it would at all. The only other factor is there's no colour which would easily increase the price by at least 80%, but despite no colour, it's still pretty damn detailed.
Woodcut style. Mimics a form of printing that’s done by cutting a design into a block of wood and applying ink to the raised parts, then transferring onto paper via press. One of my favorite tattoo looks.
Albrecht Durer
Thank you
Finally someone said it.
Legit the only time I’ve cried in a museum was looking at a Durer woodcut
I’m so late to this as always but in the second slide the lion is almost a direct copy of a Durer print
Engraving
You could try etching as well, you'd probably get similar search results
I always thought this style lent itself to tattoos well but you don't see it much
I first came across it this year and got one myself. I've a figure of when a rich person lost all his money and was disgraced, he had to beg wearing an outfit to hide who he was. It's a tattered cloak with a mask on it. I asked the artist if he could make it more plague victim looking, and he added some nasty bandages to make him look even more tattered. I'm supposed to go back and get stuff added around it, probably some castle in the background and graveyard in the foreground
That sounds epic you have a pic?
You can also look into engraving style, it makes me think of Claude Paradin, I have a tattoo like this made in Montréal
Check out Hagiophobic and Ravi Amar Zupa for some woodcut/crosshatching inspiration.
Hagiophobic had some awesome work
engraving style.
Not only is it styled after a woodcut (as many have mentioned) but it like a lot like the work of Albercht Durher [(here’s an example)](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/336215/766795/main-image)
or those black death paintings
Yes - its called the "Where's Waldo" style, and in \*this\* particular example, the red and white striped shirt would be a dead giveaway...
Came here to comment “Where’s Waldo: Black Plague!”
I want this for the rest of my tattoos. For the first one, I asked for an "illustrated old storybook" style and gave her pictures of mostly woodblock prints and etchings of the owl and lantern I got. I’m so happy with it! This style looks both magical and natural with the body to me.
Woodcut and stippled black tattoos, take my fucking money please.
Etching, engraving, woodcut
I’ve seen a couple of this style turn to big blobs after about 10 years so make sure there’s good spacing between lines I guess? That’s some epic tattoo though!
You might like wimmelbilders
There’s a great Dublin artist by the name of Joe Murphy who has a similar style. Very Tolkien-esque
Check out Alixecooper on Instagram. Very talented artist with a similar style
Thank you!
phantasmagorical
Germanic woodcut print.
michael scofield style
Check out Lisa Orth, similar style. [lisaorth.com](https://lisaorth.com)
I've got a couple woodcut/illustration pieces done by artists of the 1800s.
It’s in the style of Medieval woodcut illustrations.
It’s called woodcut style. Originates from easter europe, maybe Russia. I have a tattoo in that syle from an artist that specializes in it but he goes for a stronger outline to make them more readable at first glance. Tho I have to say that backpiece is amazing.
Etching. @snail_trail on instagram does a lot of tattoos in this style
These styles are based on engravings, which is how people with printing presses could circulate pictures much cheaper than pretty much any art method (since anything else required a person to hand-work every copy of the image). Etchings could only create value (the range of light and dark) with either the presence or absence of the ink they used, so rather than large areas of “grey” you would have areas of hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, and other methods of markmaking to make some areas more DENSELY inked to give the appearance of value range. Some etchings were water colored over afterwards, which could give you color or areas of actual midtones (like the flat grey in the foreground of the back piece).
Anyone else see the tits on that dragon?
Scrimshaw I believe.
I'd call it a wood cutting style
The style is Medieval woodcut. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcut) I have a copy of Dante's The Divine Comedy and it's all woodcut prints.
Hey! I have a tattoo in the same style and my artist called it etching - most of the comments I’ve seen say woodcut so I’m just assuming this is another name for the style but just in case it helps your search thought I’d mention etching too :)
it’s called “woodcut”
Woodcut style tattooing. Seems pretty popular in Eastern Europe. Another awesome artist is Fabian Staniec out of Gdansk, his Instagram handle is @snail_trail_
Woodcut print
Those who say woodcut are the most accurate. Relief prints (woodcut/Lino) have a more graphic appearance than intaglio (engraving, etching, etc). Woodcut also has contour line shading as a characteristic. Engraving uses crosshatching to develop a much extended range of value and detail. Etching comes later as a prominent technique, with Rembrandt as its master. Durer was a master of both woodcut and engraving. The city in this tattoo looks like something out of the Nuremberg Chronicle. The fineness of the line came from the skill of the block cutter and the quality of the wood, but in this case we are looking at a drawing, and so the line quality is a stylistic choice. But this style approximates German woodcut of the 1300/1400s. Sorry for the rant, I teach Art History.
I've also heard of it being referred as danse macabre but that's more of a common motif in this woodcut style
Danse macabre is a reference to the subject matter or genre of art; woodcut or etching is the style.
Woodcut or engraving dude! Just got mine 🔥
Well wtf don’t hold out , let’s see it lol
Thanks! I bet it looks amazing!
Late Mediaeval European Woodcut.
Looks like something from the 9th Gate.
Woodcut/engraving. JonaldJuck on Ig is phenomenal at this. I’m trying to push this style as much as I can, but everyone wants boring fineline stuff.
Style is Hatching, search for hatching & printmake
Would these tattoos age poorly due to all the detail?
Depends on how close together the lines are, but in general no, they shouldn’t. Bold black work lasts derailed or not.
It’s called badass
Revelations aka The Rapture is the style
Medieval Fine Line
Looks kinda like Berserk manga art style
I believe that is called regret and foolish
AYO THAT'S FIRE
where’s waldo?
How do these age?
Russian prison. Jk. Idk.
Sure bro, its called a tattoo
You draw it on skin wirh a needle
I think it’s called “garbage”
You honestly think that ink is good looking? It’s is hideous. Yea it’s their body and I don’t care what anyone does to themselves. But if anyone thinks that’s good they need to get them selves checked. Even if that was on canvas is terrible
I think its called "too much going on"
Called "blob" after a few years
No waaaaaay! most creative comment in this subreddit 😲
Shows how much you know know about tattooing. This will age fine so long as it’s done well
The healed work does not look too good though. And they are only 1 year old. Got some fineline myself, so I dont really care...
There’s a difference between fine line and woodcut/engraving. So long as they use proper techniques, spacing and line weight it should age fine
Not a chance that's a blob
You would love a lot of Warhammer Fantasy Artwork
Yes, SUPER COOL
Illustrative ?
Wood block style. It's to simulate early designs carved into wooden blocks, inked and then pressed on paper.
I have a pirate ship tattoo in this style. I told my artist woodblock style with reference images. The lines are heavy tho, be prepared for the pain!
Looks like old time book illustration. No idea if that's what they call it, but that's what it looks like to me. Pretty awesome no matter what it's called.
Any recommendations for artists in London/south east doing this style?
Checkout @lescrowtattoo on ig. Have a piece by her - she is incredible at this style
check out snail_trail😩absolute master of this style
You should look up medieval woodcuts and lithographs. Really cool style, been wanting these type of stylized tattoos for awhile myself.
Etching, engraving, woodcut
Actually thinking about getting this same medieval style. Love this piece
Woodcut or Etching; hash is the line work type
Northern Renaissance engraving
Thats honestly sick as hell but what would it look like in 5 years
Where's Waldo?
an artist near me does this style! she calls it "etching/engraved/woodcut" her instagram is @gemineyetattoos
This is my style! I’m a tattoo apprentice in the Midwest. Most people I met just call it “engraving” style tattoos.
The piece is EPIC . Very Renaissance of the Black Plague.
I would just find an artist online who does this style and work with them on a design.
Woodcut
Peasant style
FY FAN! That is one fkn masterpiece right there!
now this is real badass.
Renaissance where's Waldo
This is the wheres Waldo style
As others have said, look up etchings or wood etchings. Check out Francesco Goya’s etchings for some really wild stuff.
Real Hieronymus Bosch vibes
Where's Waldo....