Introduction to Printmaking
Intaglio
Union Grove High School
Kirby Meng
An original print is an image on paper or similar material made
by one or more printmaking processes. Because more than one
impression of each image is possible, "original" does not mean
"unique." Prints are multiple originals as each one will vary slightly
from the others. The development of printmaking was connected
to the development of movable type and the printing press in the
fifteenth century, although woodblock printing had been done on
textiles since ancient times.
In contemporary printmaking, artists frequently number their
prints. The total number of prints made of one image is an
edition. The number may appear on the print with the individual
print number as a fraction such as 5/25 meaning that this
particular print is number 5 of 25 prints made.
Prints in color require two or more blocks, plates, screens or
stones, one for each color, printed sequentially on top of each
other to produce the final work of art. This process is called
registration.
In visual arts there are 4 main
classes of printmaking:
• Relief
• Lithography
• Stencil
• Intaglio
Relief Prints are made using a raised printing surface. Woodcuts are the most
common type of relief print, a linoleum block print is another (modern) type of
relief print. Relief prints are usually made on soft wood and the area that are to
remain white are carved away. When inked, only those areas that were left will
be inked and therefore will print. Wood engraving is a similar process but uses a
much harder wood that allows the artist to engrave a much finer line than
traditional woodcut printing.
Albrecht Durer used this
technique in many of his
works.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1497,
approximately 15” X 11”
The Seven Angels with Trumpets – 1498,
approximately 15” X 11”
Lithography is a planographic technique based on the idea that oil and water
don’t mix. The artist draws directly on a flat stone or specially prepared metal
plate usually with a greasy crayon and then the stone is dampened with water and
then inked. The ink clings to the greasy crayon marks, but not to the dampened
areas. When a piece of paper is pressed against the stone, the ink on the greasy
parts is transferred to it. Toulouse Lautrec and Picasso are among the artists
shown who used this technique.
Carnival by Pablo Picasso, 1958
Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender,
Toulouse-Lautrec, 1895
A stencil is another type of printmaking and Silk screen is a type of stencil. This
technique first came into use in the early 20th century. The artist prepares a
tightly stretched screen, usually of silk and usually on a wooden frame. Areas not
to be printed are blocked out by filling the mesh of the screen with a varnish-like
substance (or any number of other materials which would block up the pores of
the fabric). Paper is placed under the screen and ink forced through the still-open
mesh onto the paper. This technique is also widely used on textiles, including Tshirts. Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol are examples of artists that used
silkscreen.
Robert Rauschenberg, Retroactive I, Oil
and Silk Screen on Canvas, 1964
Andy Warhol, Marilyn, Silk Screen, 1967
Intaglio printing was invented in Germany in the 1430’s well after
woodblock printing. Intaglio printing involves the use of a plate. Intaglio
printing is the opposite of relief printing, in that the printing is done from
ink that is below the surface of the plate. The design is cut, scratched, or
etched into the printing surface or plate, which can be copper, zinc,
aluminum, magnesium, plastic, or even coated paper. The printing ink is
rubbed into the incisions or grooves, and the surface is wiped clean. This
type of printing requires considerable pressure so wet paper is laid over
the inked plate on the bed of the printing press, covered with a blanket to
ensure even pressure and they are passed between two metal rollers to
create the print. The paper is forced into the sunken areas to receive the
ink. The pressure of the plate going through the press will force the plate
into the paper leaving an impression called plate mark . The plate can be
incised by one of several methods:
• Engraving
• Etching
• Drypoint
• Intaglio
•
•
•
•
Engraving The design is cut into the plate by driving furrows with a tool called a burin. The
careful control required by the cutting method results in a rather stiff, controlled style of
image, with shading accomplished through the use of parallel lines, or "hatching." Hogarth
(18th c.) is an artist who often created engravings.
Etching A metal plate is coated with a material called a ground. The artist then draws his
design on the ground with a sharp needle, that cuts through the ground to the metal below.
When the plate is put in an acid bath, these exposed areas will be etched (or eaten away).
This produces the sunken line which will receive the ink. The artist etches on the plate those
parts which will appear in the finished print as black or colored areas. Since the ground is
soft, the artist is able to work more freely than is possible with engraving, displaying a freer,
more relaxed quality of line. The length of time the plate is left in the acid bath will affect the
darkness and character of the lines. Rembrandt (17th c.) did many etchings.
Drypoint In this technique, the sunken lines are produced directly by diamond-hard tools
pulled across the plate. The depth of line is controlled by the artist's muscle and experience.
The method of cutting produces a ridge along the incisions, called burr. This gives the drypoint line the characteristically soft, velvety appearance absent in the clean edged lines of an
engraving or etching.
Aquatint A copper plate is protected by a powdered ground that is melted onto the surface of
the plate. It is acid resistant, but covers incompletely, resulting in a grainy surface texture. The
longer the plate is left in the acid bath, the darker and heavier the texture will become. It is
usually combined with a standard etching ground that permits lines and clear white areas as
well. The final effect is an image on a fine pebbled background (imparted by the porous
ground). Aquatint is usually employed in combination with line etching when subtle value
gradations are desired.
Some examples of Intaglio prints….
St. Christopher, Albrect Durer, 1521
The Holy Family, Albrecht Durer, 1512
Melancolia, Albrecht Durer, 1514
Caprichos, Francisco Goya, 1797, 6” X
8.5”, etching and aquatint
The Disasters of War, Francisco Goya, 1512
Zandamm, The Netherlands, James Whistler, 1889
Woman with dead child, Kathe
Kollwitz, 1903
The Milkmaid, Luccas van Leyden, 1510
Rembrandt van Rijn
Christ Preaching, 1649
Self Portrait, 1630
Three Crosses, 1653
Self portrait with Raised
Sabre, 5” X 4”, 1634
Self Portrait with Saskia,
about 4” X 4”, 1636
Self Portrait, 8” X 7”, 1639
The Grenade, Max Beckman, 1914
Dead Sentry in the Ditch,
Otto Dix, 1924
House Destroyed by Bombs,
Otto Dix, 1924
Intaglio Images by Vitaly Gubarev…
Willow Herb, 1985, 21” x 25”
Hoar Frost, 1987, 20” X 27”
Ice Float at Oka, 1991, 30” X 37”
Near the Brook, 1981, 17” X 17”
The Island, 1988 30” X 32”
Thaw, 1988, 29” X 33”
Haymaking Time, 1996, 26” X 29”
Forest paradise, 1994, 24” X 36”
Bibliography
http://edu.warhol.org/app_rauschenberg.html
http://char.txa.cornell.edu/media/print/print.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/289562/intaglio
http://www.jaynereidjackson.com/techniques.html