1401
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Playing Card is a 1401 ink by German 15th Century, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This image shows a simple, hand-drawn playing card. It’s a tree with eight leaves, each shaped like a card suit—some look like acorns or cups, others like swords or batons. The leaves are filled with tiny dots or lines, and the whole thing is drawn in black on a light background. The edges are rough, like it was cut from wood. This kind of drawing was made by pressing ink into carved blocks—it’s called a woodcut. Look up technique: woodcut to see how this was made.
This 15th-century German artist carved vivid religious scenes into metal and wood, then hand-painted them in bright, symbolic colors.
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