Elizabeth Coombs, Eugene Farrell, and Richard S. Field

46 pages, 8 1/2 x 11", 35 illustrations, 14 in color. 1986

ISBN 0-916724-62-x (paper) $12

The mysterious and rare 15th-century German art form known as pasteprints has been a subject of renewed interest. These relief images-difficult to find, hard to preserve, and produced by inscrutable means-have been little studied. This study is in two parts: a technical investigation of the materials and methods used to create pasteprints, and an outline of the art historical context in which the prints were produced. Using modern scientific analysis, this study explains the reasons for the deterioration of these works, unlocks the secret of their production, and analyzes their materials. The art historical section presents a detailed account of the history of pasteprints and the scholarship involved in their study.