Playing Cards
c. 1470
Medium
woodcut
Dimensions
sheet: 39 × 32.5 cm (15 3/8 × 12 13/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1944.8.23
Art Historical Context
**Playing Cards**, a captivating woodcut print from Italy around 1470, offers a glimpse into the dawn of the Renaissance and the rise of printmaking. Created by an anonymous artist of the 15th century, this sheet measures 39 × 32.5 cm and captures a complete set of playing cards in single, bold composition. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection (Department CG-E), it exemplifies early graphic design ingenuity. Woodcuts like this were revolutionary, as carvers incised images into wooden blocks, inking them to produce multiple impressions on paper—a technique that democrat...