PRINTMAKING
• Printmaking is an indirect transfer process.
• A print is a work of art create from pressing ink onto paper
from a plate or stencil.
• Printmaking allows for multiple exact duplicates of an image.
PRINTMAKING
Engraving (carving into a solid
surface) was executed on
stones, bones and cave walls.
3,000 years later, the
Sumerians re-engraved
images on stone cylinder seals
to make identical duplicates.
PRINTMAKING
The Chinese “rubbing” dating back
to the 2nd Century, is considered to
be a primitive form of print.
In the ninth century, the woodblock printmaking technique
appeared in China.
PRINTMAKING
Printmaking arrived in Europe
around 1400 and was originally
used for stamping designs onto
fabrics, textiles, or playing cards.
By the sixteenth century it had
achieved the status of an important
art form with the work of Albrecht
Durer and other Northern
European artists.
PRINTMAKING
During the 18th century art prints
began to be considered “originals.”
In the 19th century artists began to
produce “limited editions” and sign
their prints along with the technical
information necessary to
authenticate the work.
PRINTMAKING
There are many different types of
printmaking.
Woodcut
Etching
Lithography
Screen printing
Printmaking
Technique
PRINTMAKING
TOOLS
• Plate: The surface on which the image is prepared.
• Gouge: The tool used to carve out the negative space from your image.
• Brayer: The rolling device used to roll ink onto the plate.
• Baren: A circular tool used to transfer ink onto the paper by friction.
PRINTMAKING
Albrecht DÜrer
Print
Woodblock: “Sampson Rending the Lion”
Wood
Pear
No Date (1471-1528)
PRINTMAKING
Albrecht DÜrer
“The Bearing of the Cross”
colored
1528)
Woodcut, handNo Date (1471-
PRINTMAKING
Katsushika
hokusai
“The Great Wave at Kanagawa”
Polychrome ink and color on
paper
1831-33
PRINTMAKING
Ando
hiroshige
#45
from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
paper
Century
Woodblock print in ink and color on
19th
PRINTMAKING
Andy Warhol
“Eight Elvises”
Silk Screen on Canvas
1963
PRINTMAKING
Andy Warhol
“Marilyn Monroe”
Silk Screen
1967