How did the invention of the printing press impact its time?

Question

and how did it impacted art of its time or art in general?

Answer 1

Hi Tom -

This sounds like an essay! Let me help you a little bit with these questions. Let's start with the general question of how the printing press impacted its time.

1. It signaled the end of the high rate of illiteracy. People now had the potential to read their own copies of many works, not least of all the Bible.

2. With the increase in literacy, communication amongst more people of various social hierarchies in Europe could thrive (and it did). This means if a certain person wished to propose a new idea or to discuss an important topic, they could share it with a greater number of people and circulate it through each new printing press for further distribution.

3. With the increase in understanding and communication, the populace could rally behind a new idea or topic. This challenged traditional views of family, government, and religion.

Now, how did this impact art during this time?

1. Art, especially of the 14th and 15th centuries, was dominantly religious art which educated the masses about life, faith, religion, and law. It also opened the culture to new ideas of theology - as seen by the change from the transcendent images of religion in the 14th century to the more earthly images of Mary or the more human images of Jesus of the 15th century. With the invention of the printing press, artists began to be informed by waves of new ideas - and new techniques - that deeply influenced their works. It also opened them up to communication with one another on far deeper levels.

2. Art became subject to the printing press, which allowed its viewing by masses of people. Here we can see the change from stained glass icons that tell a classic religious story to a cartoon story published off the printing press telling a mimicking story about governmental scandal. Art became a medium that not only touched people in the sacred, it also educated them in the profane.

3. Today, art is not viewed with the same sense as it was before the printing press. We are literally surrounded by art, every day. Like God, art was something that was so sacred - so beautiful - it was otherworldy, beyond our approach - let alone our touch. Now, we walk on it, we touch it, we are part of it. We have moved from telling stories about our relatives while gazing up at the stars to sharing scrapbook photos.

Hopefully these points can help!

Answer 2

Johannes Gutenberg improved the printing press that the Chinese had already invented. This had a huge impact of European society. At the time, only high ranking officials and rich people could read, because materials were very scarce. However, after the books were made easily accessible to the general public because of the printing press, more people had the urge to learn to read. This resulted in a more intelligent European society, and also encouraged further Renaissance works of art.

Answer 3

The printing press allowed versions of the bible in the vernacular (as opposed to Latin) to be spread quickly and cheaply throughout Western Europe. At the time, the Catholic Church's stance was that the Bible should only be read in Latin which restricted it's audience basically to the clergy. They belived that the people should accept religion as it was taught by the Church, and any vernacular Bible was strictly forbidden. The printing press happened to coincide with the early teachings of the Reformation, and it helped to spread the reformer's belief that people should be able to read the bible in their own language and, thereby, make some of their own decisions about religion. The printing press helped spread the reformer's cause across Europe, and without it, it's possible the Reformation would never have taken place. The Catholic Church would have been able to sqash the dissenting radicals. The printing press was viewed as subversive by governments, because for the first time criticism of government could be printed on broadsheets and pamphlets and disbursed to the common man. "Official" presses were strictly controlled and unliscened printing presses were always a problem for Renaissance governments.
A downside of the printing press was that it made manuscripts redundant. Manusripts of the time were written by hand with beautiful, detailed illuminations that took real skill and artistry. Today Medieval illuminated manuscripts are recognized as real works of art and are on display in museums around the world.

Answer 4

It was the begginging of mass communication. More people were able to read. The printing press had a direct impact on the loosening of the catholic church's power (since people could read the bible for themselves in their own language) and on the rise of modern science (since data could now more easily be recorded and transmitted. Just think of all the discoveries that the greeks probably made but were lost without a printing press). As for art, I'm not sure directly how it did, but as for mass communication as a whole, images were more easily replicated, so there was a shift from trying to portray things as they are to portray more of the impression, or abstraction of the piece (this is especially true with the rise of the camera, for more on this subject, read "ways of seeing" by John Berger.)

Answer 5

At the time, it allowed printing of translations of the Bible into 'Common' languages. By the time this was jumped on by the Roman Catholic Church, it was, in many ways, too late. The move for "Vernacular" Scriptures had been strong. With printed Bibles, it aided the Reformation.
Socially and culturally, it began the widespread spread of ideas other than the political 'norms', equal to the Church, but in 'secular' terms. Ideas of new government systems, new economic sytems, etc, began to spread. The ideas of Erasmus and the science of Copernicus, for example, could be available in large numbers of copies, to whoever could read their own language, not just Latin.
In terms of Art, it meant the widespread dispersion (Yes, I know a 'dispersion' is 'widespread'!) of images. Albrecht Durer's "Praying Hands" is probably in the homes of many Protestant Christians just because the printing press made it possible to copy a picture or print - rather than relying on individual Monks (usually) or ill-trained apprentices doing coloured copies of an illustration or painting.
Just being able to reproduce an artwork - even in black and white - was a major development for 'Art'. Anybody could see a piece and make comments to friends, etc. (A VERY early form of Internet!)

Answer 6

I think it only lessened the work for those monks who copied the Bible. The first printing press took a lot of time and effort to make a page. The monks probably still illuminated the
pages. It took many years before books grew in popularity. Most people could not read back then, let alone afford to buy anything.

Slowly but surely the printing press made more information to more people, until here we are
all reading and writing and able to buy almost any book.

Answer 7

The printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenburg, allowed for the spread of ideas of people of that era. With the printing press, they could express their ideas in words and quickly duplicate them. Great bounds in literary dispersion across Europe ensued, ideas spread, etc.

I hope this helps you :]

Answer 8

like todays mass marketing, books were available to everyone and it did not cater to the rich. Before the press, everything had to be reproduced by a monk by hand. First thing printed was the bible by Guttenburg.

Answer 9

Instead of a single book taking years to produce, many books could be printed off in the same amount of time. If you could read, you could have a book

Answer 10

No guess about art. But the biggest impact the printed had on time was the printed bible Thur out Europe, thanks to Martin Luther.