Definition

What are the graphic arts?

The graphic arts are the set of crafts, techniques and processes used to reproduce texts and images on paper or other surfaces. They include design, typography, engraving, printing, bookbinding and, today, digital production.

Its story is the story of how humanity has multiplied messages: stamps, woodcut, movable-type printing, metal engraving, lithography, photography and industrial presses.

The graphic arts employ typesetters, pressmen, engravers, bookbinders, gilders, lithographers, designers and printers. Each has their own tools, many of which are preserved in museums.

The National Museum of the Graphic Arts brings together objects from all these branches, from the pre-Hispanic era to the 20th century.