1d printmaking

WORLD OF ARTWORLD OF ART

CHAPTER

EIGHTH EDITION

World of Art, Eighth EditionHenry M. Sayre

Copyright © 2016, 2013, 2010by Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates.

All rights reserved.

Printmaking

10

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives1 of 21 of 2

1. Define what a print is and discuss its earliest uses.

2. Characterize relief processes in printmaking.

3. Characterize intaglio processes in printmaking.

4. Describe the lithographic process and its invention.

Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives2 of 22 of 2

5. Describe the silkscreen process.6. Differentiate monotypes from other

kinds of print.

IntroductionIntroduction

• A print is an image printed from an engraved plate, wooden block, or similar surface.

• After the death of her cat, Kiki Smith developed a print in various states, or stages, until it was finished.

• Prints allow artists to investigate the meaning of mechanically reproduced imagery.

Kiki Smith, Ginzer and Bird Skeleton.2000. Set of two prints, aquatint, drypoint, and etching on Hahnemuhle bright white

paper; Ginzer: paper size 22-1⁄12 × 31", image size 18 × 24"; Bird Skeleton: paper size 12 × 12", image size 6 × 6". Edition of 24.

Courtesy of the artist and Harlan & Weaver, New York. [Fig. 10-1a]

Kiki Smith, Bird Skeleton.2000. Print, aquatint, drypoint, and etching on Hahnemuhle bright white paper, paper

size 12 × 12", image size 6 × 6". Edition of 24.Courtesy of the artist and Harlan & Weaver, New York. [Fig. 10-1b]

The Print and its Earliest UsesThe Print and its Earliest Uses1 of 41 of 4

• In printmaking, the process creates an impression of an image that has been transferred through pressure onto paper from a matrix, or the surface onto which the design has been created.

• Multiple impressions from the same matrix are called an edition.


• Artists often reserve a small number of additional proofs or trial impressions for personal use.

• The world's earliest known printed book, the Diamond Sutra, was found in Dunhuang, China. Images were originally intended to be

mass produced and distributed despite only one surviving work.

Frontispiece, Diamond Sutra, from Cave 17, Dunhuang.Printed in the ninth year of the Xiantong Era of the Tang dynasty, 868 CE. Ink on paper,

woodblock handscroll. British Library. © British Library Board, Or. 8210/P.2, frontispiece and text. [Fig. 10-2]


• Before paper was used widespread, pictorial designs were still printed onto fabric.

• When the Gutenberg press was invented between 1435 and 1455, printmaking soon followed. The Forty-Two Line Bible featured

colorful painted designs in the marginalia and capitals.

Johannes Gutenberg, Page from the Forty-Two-Line Bible, Mainz.1455–56. Page 162 recto with initials "M" and "E" and depiction of Alexander the Great;

text printed with movable letters and hand-painted initials and marginalia. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.

Photo: Ruth Schacht. © 2015. Photo Scala, Florence/bpk, Bildagentur fuer Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin. [Fig. 10-3]


• The Nuremberg Chronicle was published by Anton Koberger and contains more than 1,800 pictures. It was printed in a black-and-white and

color edition. Color would have been applied by hand

and was therefore more expensive.

Hartmann Schedel, The Nuremberg Chronicle: View of Venice.12 July 1493. Woodcut, illustration size approx. 10 × 20". Metropolitan Museum of Art,

New York.Rogers Fund, 1921.36.145. Image © Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala,

Florence. [Fig. 10-4]

Relief ProcessesRelief Processes

• Relief refers to a process in which the image to be printed is raised off the background in reverse.

WoodcutWoodcut1 of 51 of 5

• A design is drawn on the surface of the woodblock and parts that are to be printed in white are cut away with a knife or chisel.

• Thick, sticky ink that will not flow into the hollows is then applied to the block's surface.

• Artists can achieve dramatic contrast between light and dark.

Relief-printing technique.[Fig. 10-5]


• Erich Heckel, a German Expressionist, used the expressive potential of woodcut in his Fränzi Reclining.

• Color block printing technology developed by Chinese artists in the mid-eighteenth century was becoming popularized in Japan. They were known as nishiki-e images

due to their resemblance to brocade.

Erich Heckel, Fränzi Reclining.1910. Woodcut, printed in color, block 8-15⁄16 × 16-9⁄16", sheet 13-15⁄16 × 21-7/8".

Museum of Modern Art, New York.Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Gerson, 40.1958. Image © 2015 Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence. © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst,

Bonn. [Fig. 10-6]


• Suzuki Harunobu's designs were early examples of what would become known as ukiyo-e, "pictures of the transient world of everyday life." They portrayed women of great beauty,

such as Two Courtesans. • Graphic contrast between the inside and

outside of the harimise reflects the principlesof yin and yang.

Suzuki Harunobu, Two Courtesans, Inside and Outside the Display Window.About 1768–69. Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper, 26-3/8 × 5-1⁄16".

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.Denman Waldo Ross Collection, 1906.1248. Photograph © 2015 Museum of Fine Arts,

Boston. [Fig. 10-7]

The Creative ProcessThe Creative Process1 of 21 of 2

• Making an Ukiyo-e Print: Kitagawa Utamaro's Studio The Fickle Type is a depiction of typical

subject matter in ukiyo-e prints. Traditionally, printing required the equal

and combined efforts of publisher, designer, carver, and printer.

This depiction of Utamaro's studio is a mitate, or fanciful picture.

Kitagawa Utamaro, The Fickle Type, from the series Ten Physiognomies of Women.ca. 1793. Woodcut, 14 × 9-7/8".

Courtesy of Library of Congress. [Fig. 10-8]

The Creative ProcessThe Creative Process2 of 22 of 2

• Making an Ukiyo-e Print: Kitagawa Utamaro's Studio Each worker in the triptych is a pretty

girl.• On the left, workers size the paper.• In the middle section, the block is

prepared.• On the right, Utamaro depicts himself in

women's clothing and holding a finished print.

Kitagawa Utamaro, Utamaro's Studio, Eshi . . . dosa-hiki (the three primary steps in producing a print from drawing to glazing), from the series Edo meibutsu nishiki-e

kosaku.ca. 1803. Oban triptych, ink and color on paper, 24-3/4 × 9-5/8". Published by Tsuruya

Kiemon. The Art Institute of Chicago.Clarence Buckingham Collection, 1939.2141. Photo © 1999, Art Institute of Chicago. All

rights reserved. [Fig. 10-9]


• European artists revived the art of woodcut due to the introduction of Japanese prints in the nineteenth century.

• Van Gogh was an enthusiastic collector of prints and would occasionally copy elements of them directly. Japonaiserie: The Courtesan (after Kesai

Eisen) is an example.

Vincent van Gogh, Japonaiserie: The Courtesan (after Kesai Eisen).1887. Oil on canvas, 41-3/8 × 24". Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Courtesy of Vincent van Gogh Foundation. [Fig. 10-10]

"Le Japon," cover of Paris Illustré.May 1886. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Courtesy of Vincent van Gogh Foundation. [Fig. 10-11]


• Mary Cassatt was most impressed with the intimate depiction of the world of women found in Japanese woodcut. She imitated works like Shaving a Boy's

Head in her own prints. Bath explores contrasts between skin

and printed textiles as well as a flat composition void of tonal variations often found in Western art.

Kitagawa Utamaro, Shaving a Boy's Head.ca. 1795. Color woodblock print, 15-1/8 × 10-1/4". The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Bequest of Richard P. Gale, 74.1.153. Bridgeman Images. [Fig. 10-12]

Mary Cassatt, The Bath.1890–91. Drypoint and aquatint on laid paper, plate 12-5/8 × 9-3/4",

sheet 17-3⁄16 × 12". National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.Rosenwald Collection. Photo © Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington,

D.C. Photo: Dean Beasom. [Fig. 10-13]

Wood EngravingWood Engraving1 of 21 of 2

• Wood engraving involves fine, narrow grooves cut into a block that leave a "white line" when printed. The grainy side of the wood is used

instead of the smooth side, as end grain can be cut in any direction without splintering.

Wood EngravingWood Engraving2 of 22 of 2

• The engraving depicting Exploration of the Colorado River of the West was copied by a wood engraver from an original sketch. It presents some of the first views of the

great American Western canyonlands.

Noon-Day Rest in Marble Canyon, after an original sketch by Thomas Moran, from J. W. Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries.

1875. Wood engraving, 6-1/2 × 4-3/8". The New York Public Library, New York.[Fig. 10-14]

LinocutLinocut1 of 21 of 2

• In linocut, the block is made of linoleum instead of wood. Linoleum is easier to cut but wears

down more quickly under pressure.• It can be colored using a series of

different blocks, one for each color, aligned via the process of registration.

LinocutLinocut2 of 22 of 2

• Elizabeth Catlett's Sharecropper is comprised of three separate linoleum blocks: black, dark green, and burnt sienna. Rather than portraying the reality of

sharecroppers in conditions of slavery, Catlett shows a determined, strong figure representative of a commitment to social change.

Elizabeth Catlett, Sharecropper.1952, printed 1970. Color linocut on cream Japanese paper, image 17-3/4 × 17". The Art

Institute of Chicago.Restricted gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Hartman, 1992.182. © Catlett Mora Family

Trust/Licensed by VAGA, New York. [Fig. 10-15]

Intaglio ProcessesIntaglio Processes

• In intaglio, areas to be printed are below the surface of the plate and are filled with ink. The surface of the plate is wiped clean

and a powerful roller picks up the ink in the depressed grooves.

• Modeling and shading are achieved by hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling.

Intaglio printmaking technique, general view. [Fig. 10-16]

Intaglio printmaking techniques, side views. [Fig. 10-17]

EngravingEngraving

• Engraving is accomplished by pushing a V-shaped, metal burin across a metal plate.

• Line engravings were often used to illustrate books prior to photography. The reproduction of Turner's Snow

Storm: Steamboat off a Harbor's Mouth successfully captures the play of light and dark in the original.

After J. M. W. Turner, Snow Storm: Steamboat off a Harbor's Mouth (1842), engraved by R. Brandard.

Published 1859–61. Engraving on steel. Tate Gallery, London.© Tate, London 2015. [Fig. 10-18]

EtchingEtching1 of 31 of 3

• Etching is capable of capturing a sketchlike quality of line.

• In the process, a metal plate is first coated with an acid-resistant ground. The ground can be hard for detailing or

soft for easy exposure.• Afterward, the plate is set in an acid

bath, where exposed areas are etched by acid.


• Individual lines can be controlled via stopping out a section by applying a varnish or another coat of ground.

• When the plate is ready for printing, a solvent removes the ground and the print is made using the intaglio method.


• Rembrandt's The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds explores the capabilities and limits of etching. The artist built up the black background

with careful, intricate cross-hatching so that only areas bathed in the angel's light remain white.

More traditional drawing methods were used to model the figures.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds.1634. Etching, 10-1/4 × 8-1/2". Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Mr and Mrs De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland. [Fig. 10-19]

DrypointDrypoint

• Drypoint line is scratched across a copper plate with a metal point that is pulled across a surface, leaving burrs along the sides of a line. Burrs wear off quickly and rarely allow

for editions of more than 25.• Mary Cassatt's The Map (The Lesson)

exhibits the softness of line created through this method.

Mary Cassatt, The Map (The Lesson).1890. Drypoint, 6-3⁄16 × 9-3⁄16". The Art Institute of Chicago.

Joseph Brooks Fair Collection, 1933.537. Photo © 1999 Art Institute of Chicago. All rights reserved. [Fig. 10-20]

The Creative ProcessThe Creative Process

• Four-Color Intaglio: Yuji Hiratsuka's Miracle Grow Hypnotist Whereas Utamaro used separate blocks

for each color, Hiratsuka used an etching process allowing for sections not requiring a new color to be blocked out.

The work explores an enigmatic figure who invokes creationary forces, claiming to make a cactus grow but actually using Miracle-Gro to do so.

Yuji Hiratsuka, Miracle Grow Hypnotist.2005. Four-color intaglio (etching, aquatint) and Chine-collé on Japanese Kozo (mulberry)

paper, 18 × 13". Edition of 26.[Fig. 10-21]

Mezzotint and AquatintMezzotint and Aquatint1 of 21 of 2

• Mezzotint is a negative process in which a plate is ground with a rocker, then lightened by scraping away the burr according to the desired image.

• J.M.W. Turner used mezzotint masterfully to produce rich, dark tones. Rather than lines of ink, washes give the

impression of the scene from Ship in a Storm.

J. M. W. Turner, Ship in a Storm, from the Little Liber, engraved by the artist.ca. 1826. Mezzotint, 7-1/2 × 9-7/8". Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, UK.

[Fig. 10-24]

Mezzotint and AquatintMezzotint and Aquatint2 of 22 of 2

• Aquatint involves coating a surface with a porous ground through which acid can penetrate. Acid baths create a sandpaperlike

texture, and line is added later through etching or drypoint.

• Jane Dickson's Stairwell is pure aquatint in three colors. It represents psychological torment.

Jane Dickson, Stairwell.1984. Aquatint on Rives BFK paper, 35-3/4 × 22-3/4". Mount Holyoke College Art

Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts.Henry Rox Memorial Fund for the Acquisition of Works by Contemporary Women Artists.

[Fig. 10-25]

LithographyLithography1 of 31 of 3

• This process is the chief planographic (flat) printmaking process, meaning that no surface is raised or depressed to hold ink. It relies on the fact that grease and

water don't mix.• This method was discovered by Alois

Senefelder to commercial purpose, as the stone was never etched.


• Honoré Daumier used lithography to depict current events. Rue Transnonain directly reports the

murder of citizens of 12 rue Transnonain in April 1834.

Foreshortening draws the viewer into the horrific scene.

Honoré Daumier, Rue Transnonain, April 15, 1834.1834. Lithograph, 11-1/2 × 17-5/8". The Art Institute of Chicago.

Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.2957. Photo © Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. [Fig. 10-26]


• The Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) was established in 1957, and among the first artists to print there was Jim Dine. Lithographs representing toothbrushes

recall his childhood. Dine draws directly onto the stone with

tusche, a greasing liquid that allows for blotching.

Jim Dine, Toothbrushes #4.1962. Lithograph, image (irregular) 13-7⁄16 × 13-7⁄16", sheet 25-1/4 × 19-15⁄16".

Museum of Modern Art, New York.Gift of the Celeste and Armand Bartos Foundation, 353.1963. © 2015. Digital image,

Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence. © 2015 Jim Dine/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. [Fig. 10-27]

Silkscreen PrintingSilkscreen Printing1 of 21 of 2

• Formally known as serigraphs, no heavy machinery is needed to create prints.

• Principles are similar to those required for stenciling. In proper technique, shapes are not cut

out but glue is painted in areas where the artist does not want ink to pass through.

Silkscreen PrintingSilkscreen Printing2 of 22 of 2

• Serigraphy is the newest form of printmaking.

• Enter the Rice Cooker by Roger Shimomura addresses the tension between American and Japanese cultures. It addresses racial and sexual

stereotypes, parodying the ukiyo-e tradition.

Roger Shimomura, Enter the Rice Cooker.1994. Color screenprint on Saunders 410 gram HP, image 36 × 41". Edition of 170.

Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas.Gift of the artist, 2005.0072. [Fig. 10-28]

MonotypesMonotypes1 of 21 of 2

• Monotypes use a plate and press in the making of a unique image that can never be reproduced exactly.

• Artists use printer's ink or paints that are transferred to paper via pressure.

• Foreground elements must be painted first, as the top layer of paint becomes the bottom layer when printed.

MonotypesMonotypes2 of 22 of 2

• Maurice Prendergast created many monotypes by using a large spoon to apply pressure. The Picnic reveals brushwork in its

atmospheric haze. Characteristic subjects were young well-

to-do women in landscape settings.

Maurice Prendergast, The Picnic.1895–97. Monotype, 81-5⁄16 × 51-3⁄16". San Diego Museum of Art.

San Diego Museum of Art, USA/Museum purchase/Bridgeman Images. [Fig. 10-29]

The Critical ProcessThe Critical ProcessThinking about PrintmakingThinking about Printmaking

• Warhol's many portraits of Marilyn Monroe depicted her in garish colors.

• Later works by Warhol depicting endangered species like San Francisco Silverspot can be compared in the context of cultural commentary.

Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe.1967. Silkscreen print, 37-1/2 × 37-1/2". Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin–

Madison.Robert Gale Doyon Fund and Harold F. Bishop Fund Purchase, 1978-252. © 2015 Andy

Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.[Fig. 10-30]

Andy Warhol, San Francisco Silverspot, from the series Endangered Species.1983. Screenprint, 38 × 38".

Courtesy of Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York. Photo: Dr. James Dee. © 2015 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

[Fig. 10-31]

Thinking BackThinking Back1 of 21 of 2

1. Define what a print is and discuss its earliest uses.

2. Characterize relief processes in printmaking.

3. Characterize intaglio processes in printmaking.

4. Describe the lithographic process and its invention.

Thinking BackThinking Back2 of 22 of 2

5. Describe the silkscreen process.6. Differentiate monotypes from other

kinds of print.

1d printmaking

Art & Photos