# Literatura de Cordel Woodcut

> The cover art of Brazil's literatura de cordel, pocket chapbooks of verse whose single picture is a small woodcut cut in soft umburana wood and printed in black above a plain letterpress title. Woodcuts displaced worn zinc clichés of film-star photographs from the 1940s, led by José Bernardo da Silva's Tipografia São Francisco in Juazeiro do Norte. From the 1960s collectors and galleries turned the blocks into standalone prints by masters such as J. Borges.

- Period: 1940–present
- Where: Latin America & Caribbean
- Origin: Brazilian Northeast: Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará (Tipografia São Francisco, later Lira Nordestina); Recife, Caruaru and Bezerros, Pernambuco; Paraíba
- Branch: Traditions & vernacular
- Also known as: Xilogravura de cordel, Xilogravura popular nordestina, Folheto covers
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/cordel-woodcut/

## How it works

- Give a folded pocket chapbook one small woodcut on its cover, and let that picture retell the poem's story at a glance.
- Cut solid blacks and broad gouged white lines; show figures frontally or in strict profile, with no perspective or modelling.
- Print in black only on cheap paper, under a plain letterpress title and the poet's name, with no display-type shouting.
- Cut borders, ground lines and hatching into the block itself instead of adding typographic ornament.
- Cast the scene from the sertão and its tales (cangaceiros, saints, the devil, cowboys, princesses, fantastic beasts) and draw them with caricatural directness.
- When the block leaves the folheto, enlarge it and add flat colour for a standalone print.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Framed panels](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/framed-panels/) (characteristic)
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic)
- [Classical text block](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/classical-text-block/) (characteristic)
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (characteristic)
- [Measured density](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/measured-density/) (characteristic)
- [Sequential narrative](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/sequential-narrative/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (occasional)
- [All caps](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/) (occasional)
- [Grotesque & neo-grotesque](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grotesque-and-neo-grotesque/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Monochrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/monochrome/) (defining)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (characteristic)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (defining)
- [Distortion & exaggeration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/distortion-and-exaggeration/) (characteristic)
- [Angular & zigzag](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/angular-and-zigzag/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Carved line](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/carved-line/) (defining)
- [Paper & letterpress bite](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/paper-and-letterpress-bite/) (characteristic)

### Ornament
- [Restrained accents](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/restrained-accents/) (characteristic)
- [Folk & sacred symbols](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/folk-and-sacred-symbols/) (characteristic)
- [Borders & frames](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/borders-and-frames/) (characteristic)
- [Cosmic & celestial](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/cosmic-and-celestial/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (defining)
- [Comic & cartoon](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/comic-and-cartoon/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Woodblock & linocut](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/woodblock-and-linocut/) (defining)
- [Letterpress](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/letterpress/) (characteristic)
- [Photocopy & zine](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/photocopy-and-zine/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Communal & popular](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/communal-and-popular/) (defining)
- [Playful & witty](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/playful-and-witty/) (characteristic)
- [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (occasional)
- [Warm & approachable](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/warm-and-approachable/) (occasional)

Avoids: Naturalistic depiction, Illusion of depth, Eclectic mixing, Straight photography, Gradients, Gloss & highlights, Collage & layering

Palette: #141414, #ece4cf, #e8c95a, #d98a9e, #7fae8a, #b33a2e

Typefaces: Jobbing letterpress types from the print shop's case, for titles and verse, Lettering carved into the woodblock (J. Borges's titled prints), Typographic vignettes and fleurons framing early folheto covers

Known for: J. Borges (José Francisco Borges, 1935–2024), poet and woodcutter of Bezerros, Pernambuco; Mestre Dila (José Soares da Silva), Caruaru, who cut the cover of J. Borges's first folheto; José Costa Leite (poet and woodcutter); Tipografia São Francisco, Juazeiro do Norte (José Bernardo da Silva; later Lira Nordestina); Walderêdo Gonçalves and Mestre Noza (Inocêncio da Costa Nick), early Juazeiro woodcutters; Stênio Diniz and Abraão Batista (Lira Nordestina)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Influenced by: [Victorian Letterpress & Wood Type](https://stylogeny.com/styles/victorian-letterpress.md) (1810–1900)
- Alike in its design choices: [Rorke's Drift Linocut](https://stylogeny.com/styles/rorkes-drift-print.md) (1962–1982), 73% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Tarot de Marseille Woodcut Cards](https://stylogeny.com/styles/tarot-de-marseille.md) (1639–present), 72% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Kalighat Pat & Battala Bazaar Prints](https://stylogeny.com/styles/kalighat-battala.md) (1830–1930), 70% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Đông Hồ & Hàng Trống Folk Prints](https://stylogeny.com/styles/dong-ho-folk-print.md) (1600–present), 69% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Taller de Gráfica Popular](https://stylogeny.com/styles/taller-grafica-popular.md) (1937–1977), 68% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Mexican Popular Graphics (Posada)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/mexican-popular-graphics.md) (1880–1917), 67% alike

## Real works

- [Domiciano e Rosete ou o viajante da sorte](https://ceres.mcu.es/pages/Main?idt=30835&inventary=1993/03/176&table=FMUS&museum=MAM): José Francisco Borges (J. Borges), undated (before 1993; acquired by the museum in 1993), Museo de América, Madrid (1993/03/176), via CER.ES
- [Canudos revisitada](https://ceres.mcu.es/pages/Main?idt=30834&inventary=1993/03/175&table=FMUS&museum=MAM): Mestre Dila (José Soares da Silva), woodcut signed 'DILA', 1981, Museo de América, Madrid (1993/03/175), via CER.ES
- [A moda e a juventude ou descrição do presente](https://ceres.mcu.es/pages/Main?idt=30832&inventary=1993/03/173&table=FMUS&museum=MAM): Apolônio Alves dos Santos (poet and 'autor proprietário'); woodcutter unrecorded, undated (before 1993; acquired by the museum in 1993), Museo de América, Madrid (1993/03/173), via CER.ES
- [A chegada de Lampião no inferno](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chegada_de_lampi%C3%A3o_no_inferno.jpg): José Pacheco (poet); woodcutter unrecorded, undated edition (mid-20th century, estimated), Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa, Rio de Janeiro (cover scan via Wikimedia Commons)

## Sources

- https://www.brasilsolidario.org.br/wp-content/uploads/Fasciculo-4_xilogravura.pdf
- https://revistas.urca.br/index.php/rcn/article/download/361/241/1251 (on Tipografia São Francisco, umburana wood and the 1949 shift to woodcut covers)
- https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Borges
- https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literatura_de_cordel

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Literatura de Cordel Woodcut”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/cordel-woodcut/