<P> Prints in the Western tradition produced before about 1830 are known as old master prints . In Europe, from around 1400 AD woodcut, was used for master prints on paper by using printing techniques developed in the Byzantine and Islamic worlds . Michael Wolgemut improved German woodcut from about 1475, and Erhard Reuwich, a Dutchman, was the first to use cross-hatching . At the end of the century Albrecht Dürer brought the Western woodcut to a stage that has never been surpassed, increasing the status of the single - leaf woodcut . </P> <P> In China, the art of printmaking developed some 1,100 years ago as illustrations alongside text cut in woodblocks for printing on paper . Initially images were mainly religious but in the Song Dynasty, artists began to cut landscapes . During the Ming (1368--1644) and Qing (1616--1911) dynasties, the technique was perfected for both religious and artistic engravings . </P> <P> Woodblock printing in Japan (Japanese: 木 版画, moku hanga) is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo - e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period . Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only widely adopted in Japan surprisingly late, during the Edo period (1603--1867). Although similar to woodcut in western printmaking in some regards, moku hanga differs greatly in that water - based inks are used (as opposed to western woodcut, which uses oil - based inks), allowing for a wide range of vivid color, glazes and color transparency . </P> <P> Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light . Light patterns reflected or emitted from objects are recorded onto a sensitive medium or storage chip through a timed exposure . The process is done through mechanical shutters or electronically timed exposure of photons into chemical processing or digitizing devices known as cameras . </P>

What are the types of visual arts according to subject