Translated from the museum website
It did not take long after the invention of movable type before the first printed books illustrated with woodcuts appeared. For a society in which images were exceedingly scarce, this was a revolutionary development. The new printing techniques democratized not only the word but also the image.
45 incunabula from Strasbourg and Antwerp introduce the visitor to the virtuosity of the first book illustrators. Playing with light and shadow, these illustrators have left us lively testimony of life 500 years ago.
Three present-day artists, Pierre Gaucher, Charles Kalt and Caroline Schwoebel, confront the craftsmanship of their distinguished predecessors with their own daring work.