Explore Printmaking Flip Lecture

How is Art Made?
Printmaking

Art Appreciation

Printmaking Woodcuts of images on paper would be
Origins perfected a bit later in Japan around 1400 AD,
flourishing later in the 1800s when color
The technology for printing the written word came prints became popular through artists like,
from China around 1040 AD. They had invented Kuniyasu and Hokusai, (The Great Wave.)
moveable type – letters on individual blocks of
wood allowing easy printing of text on paper.
Individual letters, whole words or phrases could be
easily moved around, allowing for rapid printing
and quick circulation of news.

Geisha in a Hurry, Utagawa Kuniyasu, c 1816. Woodblock print

Printmaking: Origins

Centuries of isolation kept Japanese art hidden from Westerners. When Above: Actor Ichikawa Kodanji playing the hunter Nagohe,
overseas trade finally got underway and Japan was opened up to the world Utagawa Kuniyasu, c 1864. Woodblock print
in 1859, Oriental art and household goods flooded into Europe. Above left: Still Life with Head-Shaped Vase and Japanese
Woodcut, Paul Gauguin, 1889. Oil on canvas
Legend has it, these goods shipped from Japan were wrapped in the printed
posters abundant in Japan. These prints became an instant hit among
European artists. They looked so different than the traditional art of the
West. The bright, exotic colors and the Japanese depiction of space was a
huge influence on the western artists given their work an entirely new
direction. The post Impressionists were particularly enamored with the style.

Printmaking
Benefits

The single most important benefit
of printmaking is the ability to
make copies. Where a painting is
site specific and viewable only in
the location in which it hangs,
printmaking allows an image to be
reproduced and seen by many.
Artists like Albrecht Durer and
Rembrandt helped make their
names on the prints that were
reproduced and distributed
throughout Europe.

Much later Andy Warhol would
utilize the benefit of screen
printing for it’s precision and
easy reproducibility.

Printmaking The next few slides will
Editions explain the different process

Nearly all original prints are of printmaking and show
numbered to indicate that examples of each.
they are part of an edition.
This gives value to a copy.

Here’s how an edition works:

1. The group of numbers separated by
“/” indicates this print is a part of a
limited edition.

2. The second number, “100”, indicates
the total number of prints pulled.

3. The first number, “69”, is the
sequence of the print in the edition –
number 69 of 100.

4. The lower the number on both sides
increase the value of that print.

Printmaking: Relief
Relief Printing Process

In the process of relief printing, the
artist cuts away all parts of the
printing surface not meant to carry
the ink.

Process:
1. The artist prepares an image.
2. That image is then drawn directly

or transferred to the block.
3. The surface are not meant to print

is cut away from the block.
4. A brayer is used to apply ink to the

remaining surface.
5. The inked surface is pressed and

transferred to the paper.

Printmaking

Relief Print – What it Looks Like
The look of relief printing is
very distinct. The result is a high
contrast image like this print
The Prophet, by Emil Nolde.
The nature of the relief process
doesn’t usually allow for a lot of
detail. And the awkward nature
of the medium lends itself to
printing in only black and white.
But as we’ve seen in the many
impressive Japanese prints,
color blocks can be printed and
can include amazing detail.

The Prophet, Emil Nolde, 1912.
Woodcut relief on paper.

Printmaking

Relief Print – What it Looks Like

Translated to mean Poems of the Pillow, Utamakura is an illustrated book of erotic art,
known as shunga prints. Published in 1788, the images are composed of multiple blocks –
one for each color – registered and printed in sequence on one sheet of paper.

Lovers in an Upstairs
Apartment from the series
Utamakura 歌まくら
(Poem of the Pillow)
Kitagawa Utamaro, 1788.
Color woodcut relief
on paper.

Printmaking: Intaglio – The Intaglio Printing Process

In the process of intaglio, an image is scratched into the surface of a metal plate,
with either sharp hand tools or by using acid. When the plate is inked, it fills the
grooves of the scratched image and the rest is wiped from the surface.
There are two types of Intaglio:

Engraving and Etching

Process:

1. The artist prepares an image.
2. That image is then scratched directly into a sheet of soft

metal – traditionally copper or zinc – using a burin.
3. A brayer is used to apply ink to the entire surface.
4. The surface ink is wiped clean leaving ink only in the

scratched grooves of the image.
5. Damp paper is laid atop the inked plate and both are run

through a heavy press.
6. The damp paper has been pressed into the grooves lifting

the ink from the plate and the image has been transferred.
7. The image is done and the plate is ready to be inked and

printed again. (Notice the image is reversed.)

Printmaking: Engraving

In an engraving, the lines are all cut
by hand using a burin. The deeper
the groove, the more ink it can hold
and therefore the darker the line.

What does it look like?

In this engraving by Albrecht Durer, a
knight, and his faithful dog, ride along
a treacherous road. The rider moves
through, ignoring a scene full of iconic
symbols reminding him (and the
viewer) of the importance of his
journey to the bright castle on the hill.
What symbols do you see?
Durer used engravings to circulate
copies of his images to a wider
audience. He even created a logo-like
signature for quick recognition.

Knight, Death, and the Devil.
Albrecht Dürer, 1513.
Engraving on paper.

Printmaking Self Portrait in a Cap, Open-Mouthed.
Intaglio: Etching Rembrandt van Rijn, 1630.
Etching on paper.
An etching works almost like and an
engraving. The same rules apply - the
deeper the groove, the darker the line.
The difference is the artist uses acid to
help cut the lines deeper.
To prepare a plate for an etching, the
artist coats the plate with a waxy,
acid-resistant ground. The lines of an
image are scratched into the surface
of the ground exposing the metal
underneath. The plate is then dipped
in an acid bath, “etching” only the
exposed lines. The longer the acid
bath, the deeper the lines, and…
…you know the rest.

Printmaking The Good Samaritan.
Intaglio: Etching Rembrandt van Rijn, 1688.

An etching is advantageous for the artist Etching on paper.
who wants to control the value (lights
and darks) of his printed line. As we see
in the image to the right, an etching can
start to look more like the lines of a
natural drawing.

What does it look like?

Rembrandt made a ton of etchings over
his long career. He quickly became a
master of the process, creating
atmospheric perspective through short
acid baths for lighter areas, reapplication
of ground and then longer baths for
darker areas.
Like Durer, Rembrandt became a well-
known artist through etchings reprinted
over and over as illustrations for books
like the bible.

Printmaking: Lithography – The Traditional Litho Process

The word Lithography means “stone writing” and is a planographic printmaking
technique referring to the copies being made from an entirely flat surface.
Although the use of stone is no longer necessary, contemporary artists still look to
traditional lithography because it
reproduces a copy remarkably
similar to the original drawing.

Process:

1. The artist designs an image.
2. The image is drawn onto the stone with

a grease pencil which blocks the pores
of the limestone.

Now comes the scary part for an artist…

3. Acid is brushed onto the surface of the stone, then wiped clean with kerosene.
4. A wet sponge is used to saturate the pores of the stone with water.
5. Oil-based ink is repelled by the water and sits only where the grease pencil image was used.
6. Paper is placed on the surface of the stone and is then drawn through a press.
7. The print is removed from the stone.
8. The image looks just like the original drawing (but in reverse of course.)

Printmaking: Lithography

Technically, lithography is a term
we use to describe all modern
copying techniques. But again the
advantage to an artist who uses
the traditional lithography process
is that the reproductions look
almost exactly like the original
drawing. Now days, if we want a
copy, we just go to Kinkos. But in
the days before photography,
having a copied drawing look so
real was revolutionary technology.

What does it look like? Rue Transnonain, April 15,1834. Honoré Daumier, 1688. Lithograph.

French artist Honoré Daumier began his career as a satirical cartoonist, producing political
etchings that were reproduced in French newspapers. Later, he began using his drawing
skills along with lithography, to create timely images dealing with the latest news of the day.
In the image above, Daumier performs the same role a photographer would today, by giving
the readers an emotionally charged image to go with the story of a horrific event. Illustrated
is an actual case of police brutality, in which, while responding to an incident, police storm
into a family’s home and ruthlessly kill everyone inside. Believed to be drawn at the scene,
we see the aftermath of a family massacred – including a child under the body of the father.

Printmaking: Screen Printing Another planographic process,
screen printing is one of the most
versatile methods available. It
allows an excellent coverage of ink
on a wide variety of surfaces ranging
form t-shirts to works on paper or
product packaging. Artist love it
because the inks can be very colorful
and can be used to create a large
number of prints very quickly.

What does it look like?

American pop artist Andy Warhol began his
iconic Marilyn screen prints by incorporating a
well known photograph of Marilyn Monroe,
taken at the height of the actress’s career. Using
a technique called photographic silkscreen,
Warhol repeats a variation of the same image
with bright, flat colors. This repetition reminds
the viewer of the mass-production of images
we see in advertising used to sell a product. Like
his cans of soup, a repeated image starts to
loose it’s meaning the more we see it. Marilyn
begins to lose her identity and turns into just
another commodity.

LEFT: Four Marilyns, Andy Warhol, 1962. 29x21.5 inches, Silkscreen on linen.
ABOVE RIGHT: Warhol at work in his studio, the Factory.

Printmaking: Vocabulary

(Click the blue word to return to it’s original page.)

Edition – The total number of copies of a print made at one time.
Pull – The physical act of printing by hand.
Register – The alignment of separate color blocks or screens to create one
multi-color image.

Burin – A fine point steel tool used for engraving in soft metal.
Brayer – A small hand roller used to spread ink thinly and evenly.
Planographic - A process for printing from a flat, smooth surface.