Recessed engraving (recessed places are printed) Made on metal (copper) Cutting engraving. The image of genius or black melancholy
Tradition links the origin of copper engraving with the niello technique. The term "niello" means a technique used by jewelers since the Middle Ages; when working on metal or silver products, including plates intended for decoration with niello, the surface of the metal with a pattern applied to it, cut deep into, was covered with black powder. Consisting of sulfur and other components, this powder was called the Latin word "nigellum". The metal plate was heated, and the molten black mass filled the deep grooves of the pattern left by the cutter. After cooling the product, the excess parts of the hardened "nigellum" were removed, and the pattern stood out clearly on the surface of the metal with thin black contours, giving the work a finished and precious character. Apparently, before proceeding to the last stage of work with "nigellum", the artists, in an effort to check the desired result, filled the grooves of the lines cut into the depths of the drawing with ink or dark paint, and then made test prints on wet paper. This is how the first, at first random engravings were obtained. Giorgio Vasari, an Italian painter, architect and eminent art historian, attributes their invention to the Florentine master Maso Finigverra, dating the birth of the niello engravings to 1460. However, Vasari's claim is hard to believe. Many engravings on copper that appeared in Italy in the middle of the 15th century, and even earlier in Germany and the Netherlands, could not be due to only one master; probably, such samples on paper naturally arose in many jewelry workshops. Among the early works of this type that have come down to our time, several miniature engravings stand out, which, in the words of the Italian researcher Mary Pittaluta, owe their “precious charm” to their small size and close spacing between strokes.
On the tiny surface of the engraving "Adoration of the Magi" (115 x 105 mm), thirty-two figures of the procession participants fit in, compositionally reminiscent of the frescoes of Benozzo Gozzoli in the Medici-Riccardi Palace in Florence (1459 - 1463) - The creator of the engraving does not yet know the laws of linear perspective, the decorator's instinct draws him to the filling of space - and he weaves, like a pattern, the procession of the Magi from bottom to top, from right to left. From the dark depths of the “niello”, light, with light shadows, figures of Mary, Joseph, magician kings protrude, and quite far away - horsemen, horses, camels and even shepherds - characters of another plot, “The Adoration of the Shepherds”.
Even finer and more delicate is the portrait of Bentivoglio inscribed in the circle. Delicate features, a delicate profile, a sad expression are in harmony with the colors that appear around the young figure. Likened to a precious piece of jewelry, the engraving resembles a chased medallion.
Graceful "niellos" are characterized by light forms protruding from the darkness. This could become a kind of pictorial canon, if the desire to surround the object with a spatial environment that arose in the Renaissance did not lead the first engraving masters to abandon dark backgrounds and use the artistic possibilities of white paper.
The niello type, with its black background, found its further development in Bologna in the second half of the 15th and early 16th centuries in the work of Pellegrino da Cesena. In purely decorative terms, like a white pattern on a black background, having lost its connection with niello, it continues to live in 17th century.
One of the first masterpieces of new art is considered to be the "Portrait of a Noble Lady", preserved in a single copy in the collection of the Berlin Engraving Cabinet. The engraving on copper was made by a master of the Florentine school; it dates back to the 1440s-1450s. Only a jeweler, carefully working in small forms and on expensive materials, could draw such a clean and elegant line as the outline of a lady's profile. Her headdress, precious necklace, clothes are filled with finely designed ornaments. And this complex patterning could also be recreated only by a skilled goldsmith. It is in the opposition of the clean surfaces of the face and neck, limited by only one contour, to the decoratively designed surfaces of the headdress, necklace and dress that the main artistic effect of this work lies. At the same time, its special charm keeps traces of the contact of the jeweler's skill with the great art of the early Renaissance. There is no doubt that this engraving bears the memory of the famous profile portraits that emerged from the workshops of the painters Domenico Veneziano and Paolo Uccello.
In addition to the “Portrait of a Noble Lady”, several early Italian engravings should be mentioned, which clearly show the fruitful influence of the Renaissance art of Florence on the development of Italian engraving. The composition “The Resurrection of Christ”, known from a single print in the collection of the British Museum in London, directly repeats the relief of Luca della Robbia on the same plot, commissioned in 1443 for the Florence Cathedral. The impact of the harsh realism of Andrea del Castagno is found by a few sheets engraved by the anonymous Master of the Passion from Vienna. Even in such engravings as "Christ in Glory" (the only copy in the graphic collection of the Uffizi Gallery) and " The Ascension of Mary”, with their intense ornamentation, features of the compositional structure, balance and clear correlation of forms cannot be imagined outside the discoveries of new art.
Starting from the 15th century and only in the 19th century, steel planks began to be used. Richer and more varied in tonal pattern. The drawing is cut into the metal. Barma - protrusions, shavings. Bosch. Printed under pressure. On metal, you can make fewer grooves of about 100, and not 1000, as on woodcuts. A print is an imprint.
Chemical engraving - Drypoint. The action of the paint is enhanced with acid. It is scratched on a copper plate. Lines with fuzzy edges, formed thanks to the barma. The effect is softer. A maximum of 10 prints can be made.
Etching - a metal board is covered with a layer of special soil (asphalt, wax), heated, smoked. The metal is scratched up to the point of removing the varnish. Then the board is treated with acid, which does not interact with the varnish, but interacts with the metal. Therefore, when printing, a perfectly even pattern appears, lines, the board can be etched and printed a lot. Gives light-air perspectives. Used in landscapes.
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Etching + Drypoint. Rembrandt
Soft lacquer. 17th century Animal fat is added to the varnish. Paper is superimposed on a metal board, a drawing is made on it, and from the pressure and the etching field, a soft, velvety drawing will turn out.
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Aquatita - 1765. (Jean Baptiste Lenprince) The end of the 17th-18th century. Picturesque property of graphics. After etching, a special primer, the primer is washed off and dusted with asphalt powder. After heating, it melts. Then it is again pickled and the acid corrodes the asphalt pores. For even darker light, it is etched and coated again, and the light is varnished. Thomas Malton
Mezzotint (from the end of the 17th century) - Black Manner. Ludwig Won Sigingmund. Porter Amily background. The board is prepared with special tools that scrape the metal, the more notches, the darker it is then leveled with a knife, the notches are polished, where the white line will be. Francisco Goya. Only tonal drawing.
· Mezzotint + etching
Aquatita + etching. Richard
· Lithography (stone engraving) The drawing is covered with an oil solution. Flat engraving in oil.
History of etching
· From the 14th century to the 18th century - painting technique. Auxiliary graphics. Office (14th century) Sketches.
· 15th century - cardboards, which were created in real sizes of the image, from which the drawing was transferred from cardboard to the wall along the grid. Rembrandt. Pastel
Graphically independent images
a. portraits
b. landscapes
18th century - strict,
20th century - woodcut, etching (Van Gogh). At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, graphics change. The Impressionists created Pointelism (from the French word - pointe
The technology of manufacturing engraving forms on metal intaglio printing is diverse. But this variety of techniques can be divided into two groups according to the principle of engraving. The first group includes all printed forms obtained by mechanical means - these are engraving, drypoint, mezzotint, or black manner, dotted engraving (made with punches or tape measure). To the second - the printing forms received by chemical processing of metal (etching). These are all varieties of etching: needle etching, soft varnish or tear varnish, aquatint, lavis, dotted engraving (obtained by etching), as a variation of it, pencil style, reserve and various techniques of modern artists, which are often called mixed media. Modern gravure engraving also uses various non-traditional materials, such as cardboard, tracing paper, plastics, and others.
Cutting engraving. The engraving process of a chisel engraving consists in the fact that with a chisel (cutter), which is most often a four-sided steel rod with an obliquely sharpened end, having a section in the form of a rhombus, inserted into a special mushroom-shaped handle, the strokes of the pattern are cut out on a smoothly polished metal surface. For this, a copper plate 2-3 mm thick is usually used. In addition to copper, brass or steel can be used for this purpose.
The engraver creates an image by combinations of parallel and intersecting lines and dots cut into the thickness of the metal. When printed, they are filled with ink. To do this, the entire board is stuffed with a swab of paint and then washed with starched gauze. In this case, the paint remains only in the recesses. Pressed against the printing plate by the rollers of the intaglio machine, the moistened paper takes up the ink from these depressions.
A copper plate engraved with a chisel gives about 1000 full prints, depending on the quality of the copper and the depth of the strokes. To increase the circulation, it is possible to leave the engraved copper plate in a galvanoplastic way. Engraving on steel can withstand several tens of thousands of copies. Sometimes, in order to increase the circulation, electroplated copies were made from the original printing plate, and printing was made from several identical printing plates.
Dry Needle. With this engraving technique, a special needle is used, with which an image is applied to a copper or zinc plate. Near the scratched lines, burrs are formed, called bards. These barbs trap the ink as it is applied to the mold, creating a special effect on the print. Due to the fact that the lines when engraving with a needle are often shallow, and the barbs are wrinkled when the ink is erased and the pressure during printing, the circulation of such an engraving is small - only 20-25 prints.
Mezzotint (black manner). Unlike other mechanical engraving techniques that create images through combinations of strokes and dots, mezzotint renders tonal transitions from deep black to white. To do this, the copper plate is first covered entirely with frequent small depressions and burrs. This is done with a special tool called a rocking chair. The rocking chair is a steel plate with a rounded bottom side, on which fine teeth are applied. This plate is fixed in the handle, and the whole tool looks like a wide short chisel with an arcuate blade. By pressing the teeth on the metal surface and shaking the tool from side to side, they pass in different directions over the entire surface of the plate until the future printing plate is covered with frequent and uniform notches. If such a board is stuffed with paint, then when printed it will give an even velvety black tone. Further processing of the board consists in the fact that with a trowel (a steel rod with a rounded spoon-shaped end) the granulation of the board is smoothed out in the light areas of the pattern. Completely ironed, rough places will not retain ink and will give a white tone in the print when printed, where the graining of the board is slightly smoothed, there will be a gray tone, and places not touched by the trowel will give a black tone. This creates a tone image.
Boards engraved using the mezzotint method, when printed, give only 60-80 full-fledged prints. With further replication, the roughness of the printing plate is quickly smoothed out and the image becomes gray, its contrast decreases.
Dotted engraving. This method of engraving consists in the fact that the image is created by a system of dots-recesses applied to the copper plate by punches. This tool is a steel rod with a conical point on one side. The opposite end is blunt and is struck with an engraving hammer. The punch cuts into the surface of the metal and leaves a depression that gives a black dot when printed. From a combination of such points, sometimes densely located in dark places, sometimes rarely in bright places, an image is obtained.
In addition to punches, roulettes are used in dotted engraving, i.e. wheels of various shapes with teeth, mounted on the handle. With such wheels, a whole strip of dots-recesses is applied. The circulation of the dotted engraving is the same as that of the incisal engraving, i.e. about 1000 copies.
Etching. Etching techniques are fundamentally different from the previous ones. Their essence is that on a metal plate, the surface areas that should become printing elements deepen under the influence of an etching liquid. At the same time, gaps are protected from etching with a special acid-resistant varnish. For etching, solutions of various acids and salts are used. Etching uses copper, brass, zinc or steel (iron) plates.
Needle etching. The technology of this main type of etching is that on a copper or zinc plate coated with acid-resistant varnish, a pattern is scratched with an etching needle, and thus metal is exposed in places where the needle has passed. After that, the plate is immersed in an etching liquid, usually consisting of a mixture of solutions in water of nitric and hydrochloric acids. When etching in places not protected by varnish, the metal is corroded by acid and the pattern deepens. The stronger the etching solution and the longer the duration of the etching, the deeper the lines of the pattern become. Etching can be performed in stages in different areas of the image, obtaining different depths and widths of etching. In the print, this will give more or less line thickness. This is achieved by sequentially covering with varnish those places that should be lighter and sufficiently etched, and after that, additional etching of the areas of the image that should be darker. When the etching is completed, the board is washed with water, the acid-resistant varnish is removed with gasoline or turpentine, and the board is ready for printing.
From a deeply etched copper board, you can get the same circulation as from a cut engraving, i.e. about 1000 copies. If the etching is with thin shallow lines, then its circulation is only 300-500 full-fledged prints. Less impressions can be obtained from zinc boards than from copper ones.
Aquatint. This type of etching makes it possible, like mezzotint, to convey a tone image. Only the graining of the board here is obtained not mechanically, but with the help of etching. To do this, the surface of a metal plate is covered with a thin layer of very fine powder of rosin or asphalt. The board dusted in this way is heated, the powder particles melt and stick to the metal. If such a plate is etched, then the smallest gaps between the dust particles of rosin will deepen, and we will get a uniformly grained surface. When printed, this form will give an even tone, the intensity of which will depend on the depth of etching.
To obtain an image, on a board covered, as described above, with the smallest hardened droplets of rosin, places that should be white are covered with liquid acid-resistant varnish. Then the board is etched and the places that should have a light tone are again varnished, and the areas of the board that are not varnished are again etched. Several tones are obtained by such successive etchings. With each etching, progressively darker areas of the image are formed. Then the rosin and varnish are removed with gasoline, and the board is printed in the usual way.
The circulation from the aquatint printing plate is small - approximately 250-300 copies.
Lavis. This engraving technique, like aquatint, also reproduces the tonal relations of the image. It is based on the fact that the metal, having a heterogeneous, granular structure, when etched, gives a slightly rough surface that retains paint. The whole process of work consists in applying an etching liquid (usually a 20-30% nitric acid solution) with a glass fiber brush directly to the surface of the metal plate. The tone of the brushstroke depends on the duration of etching.
Another type of lavis is similar in technique to aquatint. At the same time, the same sequential opening and etching is performed, as in aquatint, but without dusting the board with rosin.
In the print, lavis engraving gives gentle brush strokes and light fills.
In modern engraving, lavis is a technique that combines the techniques of aquatint and lavis. On a board covered with rosin dust, an etching liquid is applied with a brush, as is done in lavis.
Lavis can be used as an adjunct to other etching techniques. There are many varieties of this technique, which are sometimes kept secret by their authors, but their essence is the same - the direct effect of the etching solution on the surface of the future printing plate and the use of a brush stroke to create an image. The circulation of lavis is very small, only 20-30 copies.
Soft varnish, or tear varnish. The surface of the metal plate with a swab or roller is covered with a special acid-resistant varnish, which contains lamb or lard, giving it softness and stickiness. The board primed in this way is covered with a sheet of paper, preferably with a large texture and not too thick. Draw on paper with a pencil. When the pencil is pressed, the varnish sticks to the back of the paper. When the drawing is finished, the paper is carefully removed and the varnish that has adhered with it, thereby exposing the metal in those places where the pencil strokes were. After that, the board is poisoned. It turns out an engraving that conveys the texture of the drawing on paper.
The circulation of this technique is about 300-500 copies, depending on the texture of the paper and the thickness of the strokes.
Pencil style and dotted line. This technique consists in processing a metal board coated with acid-resistant varnish, using tools that cause lacquer punctures. To do this, use tape measures, bundles of needles, wire brushes and a matuar (a tool that has a ball with teeth at the end). With all these tools, an image is applied by various groups of dots. Etching can be done with the opening of bright places in stages. After etching at the place of lacquer punctures, tiny depressions will appear on the metal surface, which in the print will give various combinations of dots that make up the image. If in this way you imitate the trace of a pencil on a torchon or any other texture of paper, then there will be a complete illusion of drawing with a pencil or charcoal. Therefore, this type of engraving is called a pencil style.
The circulation from boards engraved in this way is small, 250-300 copies.
Reservation. This method of engraving consists in drawing on the metal surface with a pen or brush with special ink containing sugar and glue dissolved in water. When the drawing is finished, it is covered with an even layer of acid-resistant varnish. Then the board is lowered into the water. The water dissolves the sugar and glue in the ink, and the varnish over the design swells. Careful movements of a cotton swab remove the swollen varnish and thereby expose the metal. In the case of a pen drawing, the board is etched, as in a regular needle etching. When working with a brush, the surface of the exposed metal is powdered with rosin powder and subsequently etched like an aquatint. This technique is characterized by the fact that it directly conveys the work of the artist on the board.
There are a number of other techniques of this technique, but in principle they come down to the same thing - the ability to reproduce a direct drawing in the print.
Intaglio metal engraving appeared in Europe around the same time as woodcut engraving, i.e. at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century, and is obviously also associated with the appearance of paper in Europe. This technique originated in jewelry and weapons workshops. Since ancient times, metal products have been decorated with ornaments or any images engraved both with a cutter and by means of etching. Such engravings were often made into prints on paper or parchment for the internal use of masters, as samples for subsequent work and simply out of a desire to keep a successful work for themselves. Such prints in museum practice are called niello.
Engraving on metal, in the proper sense of the word, began its development with engraving incisors. Etching came later. The first engravings carried the same functions as the early woodcuts, i.e. for reproduction of images of saints or playing cards.
If a woodcut from the end of the 15th century. served mainly book publishers and was firmly associated with the book, then the engraving engraving from the time of its appearance became an independent, as it were, easel engraving.
The early engraving is characterized by the predominance of the contour with modeling with thin, straight, small strokes.
In contrast to the anonymity of the early woodcuts, the engraving is more individual, and if we do not know the early masters by name, then their individual handwriting makes it possible to single out individual authors, such as the "Playing Card Master", "Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet" and a number of others.
Engraving of Northern Europe in the 15th century. still heavily influenced by the gothic style. The most significant masters of that time can be considered German engravers: masters "E.S." (worked until 1467) and especially Martin Schongauer (circa 1450-1491), who began to use ordered hatching instead of the chaos of lines that preceded him.
In Italy at this time, the art of engraving was affected by the influence of ancient culture. Of particular importance for the development of engraving (and not only Italian) were Antonio Pallayolo (1429-1498) and Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506).
The art of engraving of the 16th century. closely associated with the name of Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528). All achievements in this area to one degree or another depended on the genius of Dürer. What was new in Dürer's technique was mainly that the form in his engravings was conveyed by even, smoothly curving, ordered strokes, each of which has independent significance and beauty.
In addition to the artists who were apprenticed in Dürer's workshop, it can be said with certainty that the masters of his time in all European countries experienced his influence. In Germany itself, many remarkable masters appeared who worked in the technique of engraving: first of all, A. Altdorfer, G. Aldegrever, G. Z. Beham and his brother B. Beham, G. Penz. These artists are often referred to as Kleinmasters for the predominance of small format in their engravings.
At the beginning of the 16th century etching first appeared. The first, around 1504, to apply this method of engraving, apparently, was the Augsburg master Daniel Heufer (slave 1493-1536). The first dated etching of 1513 belongs to the Swiss artist Urs Graf (circa 1485-1528). Dürer also made five etchings in the period from 1515 to 1518. All etchings of this time were performed on iron. In the 16th century this technique did not interest the artists, and things did not go further than a few experiments.
In Italy, Dürer's contemporary Marcantonio Raimondi (circa 1480 - after 1527) should be noted. At the beginning of his work, this master was greatly influenced by Dürer, but technically he developed a purely Italian manner of engraving with a small silvery stroke. Raimondi worked a lot from the compositions of Raphael and other masters of the High Renaissance. From him, perhaps, the main purpose of Italian engraving was the reproduction of paintings and drawings by Italian painters. Soon after Raimondi, the reproduction faviur in Italy acquired a commercial, artisan character, satisfying the demand for the reproduction of paintings by great Italian artists.
The need of artists to convey their ideas themselves was satisfied by the possibilities of etching, and therefore in the middle of the 16th century. in Italy, this technique is rapidly developing.
One of the first artists at this time to use etching was Francesco Mazzola (Parmigianino, 1503-1540). His free, as if fluent drawings with an etching needle attracted the attention of many other artists. Let's name here F.Primaticcio, P.Farinatti, J.Palma the Younger.
The success of etching brought a life-giving stream to the reproduction handicraft chisel favure. But the real revolution in this area was made by the Carracci brothers, especially Agostino Carracci (1557-1602), who again raised the Italian reproduction favure to a height worthy of Marcantonio Raimondi.
in the Netherlands in the first third of the 16th century. the largest master of the Northern Renaissance, Luke of Leiden (1489 or 1494-1533), worked. Having not avoided the influence of Dürer at the beginning of his career, he introduced the achievements characteristic of Raimondi's approach to the northern favourite.
Hendrik Goltzius (1558-1617) was truly virtuoso in his chisel favours. In his works, the remnants of the influence of the Gothic have already been finally overcome and the forms of antiquity dominate. Goltzius favors energetic, with strong thickening, lines laid down in shape. Goltzius left numerous students and followers, such as J. Müller, J. Matam, J. Sanredam, J. de Gein.
If in the 16th century the center of the art of engraving can be considered Germany and partly Italy, from which the life-giving influence of ancient culture spread, then in the 17th century. this center undoubtedly moved to the Netherlands, more precisely, to Flanders and Holland, which had been divided by this time. In these countries, the development of engraving went in different ways. In Flanders, a predominantly reproduction engraving was developed.
The great Flemish artist Rubens himself was not directly involved in engraving. Although, perhaps, several engravings belong to him, which were rather experiments to familiarize themselves with the material. However, few artists can be named who were of such great importance for the development of engraving.
Rubens created a workshop of the best engravers with a chisel of that time to reproduce his works and the works of his students: Van Dyck, Snyders, Jordaens. Rubens gave not only plots for engravings, but also led the very creative process of creating engravings.
Of the engravers of his workshop, first of all, L. Vorsterman (1595-1667), P. Pontius (1603-1658), the brothers Boethius Bolswerth (1580-1633) and Schelte Adams Bolswerth (1586-1659), P. de Jode the Younger ( 1606-1674).
In the field of etching, the best that was created in Flanders in the 17th century is a few portraits made by Van Dyck for his "iconography", a collection of portraits of his contemporaries. He gave most of them to be engraved with a chisel by other masters. Only a small number of prints made before the publication have survived, while four leaves were published unchanged.
Holland in the 17th century. the main role was played by the author's etching. And here the etchings of Rembrandt (1606-1669) are of exceptional importance. He developed his own technique and a special approach to engraving, achieving astonishing richness of tonal transitions from deep shadows to bright light. Rembrandt used in his work, along with etching, a dry point, and in the last period of creativity, a dry point in his engravings became predominant.
In addition to Rembrandt, in Holland, many painters work in etching. As in painting, they specialize in certain genres. So, landscape etchings are made by J. Reisdal (1628 / 29-1682), G. Swaneveld (1620-1655), A. Waterloo (about 1610-1690), A. van Everdingen (1621-1675), genre - A. van Ostade (1610-1685), K. Bega (1620-1664), animalistic - N. Berchem (1620-1683), K. Dujardin (1622-1678), A. van de Velde (1635-1672), P. Potter (1625-1654) and many others.
in France in the 17th century. the largest etching master Jean-Jacques Callot (1592/93-1635) worked. Callot is famous for his somewhat fotesque faucets in small format, although he also had many large faucets. He, obviously, was the first to use staged etching in etching, with lighter areas exposed. Sometimes Callot used a chisel along with etching, achieving a peculiar effect by combining a free line of etching with energetic straight strokes with a chisel.
Of particular importance in France is the incisive portrait favure.
A great virtuoso in this area was Klodt Mellan (1598-1688). He achieved astonishing results by simulating tonal transitions with only the thickness of the line. They, obviously, for the sake of a kind of panache, performed the favure of the “Plant of St. Veronica”. The head of Christ in this favure is depicted as a single continuous spiral line, starting at the tip of the nose and passing through the entire image at an equal distance, and only by changing the thickness of the line is the relief of the face created.
The portraits of Robert Nanteil (1623-1678) and Gerard Edelink (1640-1707) made by the chisel are very famous.
I must say that in the 17th century. in all European countries, engraving on metal is being introduced into the book and it is replacing illustrations that were previously done by woodcuts.
In the 17th century The mezzotint technique was invented by Ludwig Siegen (1609-1680?), a German by nationality living in Amsterdam. His first dated engraving in this technique is marked 1643. The Dutch engraver Abraham Blotelling (1634-1687) improved this technique by using a rocking board for graining.
Mezzotint received special recognition in England. Here the leading master in this
area was John Smith (1652-1742). But the mezzotint flourished in England in the 18th century.
In the 18th century deep engraving on metal was the highest development in France. Here, along with the continued development of chisel engraving, a very peculiar style of etching of artists arises, to one degree or another influenced by Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), who himself made several etchings. Francois Boucher (1703-1770) stands out among them, who made about 180 engravings by the author and based on drawings by Watteau.
An exceptional place in the history of engraving is occupied by French book illustration. It was usually performed by a combination of etching with a chisel. For the most part, draftsmen were engravers themselves and therefore had a good feel for the material of engraving. Thanks to this, a unique community of illustrators and engravers was created.
The need for a more modern technique for tone reproduction led to the invention of lavis and aquatint in France. They were first used, apparently, in 1765 by Jean-Baptiste Leprince (1733-1781), who made many engravings on the themes of Russia.
At the same time, techniques such as soft varnish (invented in the 17th century by the German Dietrich Meyer, 1572-1658), the pencil style, which was successfully used by Gilles Dematro (1722-1776), and the dotted line, developed in England by Francesco Bartolozzi, began to be widely used. (1727-1815).
All these techniques, together with the aquatint and mezzotint, were used in the art that became popular in the second half of the 18th century. colored engraving. Paintings, pastels and colored drawings were reproduced in color engraving, mainly by artists of the Watteau circle. Many artists made drawings based on multi-color engraving. For printing color engravings, several printing plates were made for each color separately. Then the image was printed sequentially on one sheet of paper with the exact combination of all the details of the picture. Color printing was also used from one form, on which paints of different colors were applied. These two printing methods were often combined. I also practiced tinting prints by hand.
Jean-Christophe Leblon (1667-1741) invented color printing from multiple boards. He based his method on the law of mixing colors discovered by Newton and printed his engravings from three boards for the three primary colors - red, yellow and blue. By mixing these three colors, when printing on a print, all other colors were obtained. Leblon used the mezzotint technique for his engravings.
Aquatint in color engraving was first used by Jean-Francois Jeaninet (1752-1814). For this purpose, Gilles Dematro began to use the pencil style to reproduce drawings with colored pencil.
Italy in the 18th century it is necessary to note the artists working in etching Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) and Antonio Canaletto (1697-1768). Despite the difference in plots, they are related by a common approach to tone modeling with small, uneven, but almost without crossing lines.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) devoted his work exclusively to architectural subjects. He engraves with parallel strokes that follow the form, thickening vigorously in the shadows. Piranesi also used a chisel in his etchings.
Francisco Goya (1746-1828) worked in Spain, creating his famous series of etchings, mostly using aquatint.
The need for the 19th century in large editions brought to life engraving on steel. It was used exclusively for reproduction purposes. The author's engraving, mainly etching with all its varieties, on the contrary, became small-circulation. Artists and publishers sought to increase the rarity of sheets that were most often intended for collectors.
Copper engraving appeared in Russia in the second half of the 17th century. The beginning of this art is associated with the name of Simon Ushakov (1626-1686). Two etchings signed by him are known. The most skillful engraver with a chisel of the 17th century. was Athanasius Trukhmensky, who made many engravings and drawings by Ushakov. In 1693, the famous primer by Karion Istomin was published, engraved by Leonty Bunin (slave 1692-1714).
It must be admitted that engraving on metal in Russia until the beginning of the 19th century. was provincial in relation to the European, although there were talented masters who were of great importance for the development of national engraving. The best of them were Alexei Zubov (1682/83-1751), Mikhail Makhaev (1716-1770), Ivan Sokolov (1717-1757), Evgraf Chemesov (1737-1765), Gavriil Skorodumov (1755-1792).
The largest master of engraving engraving in Russia in the 19th century. was Nikolai Utkin (1780-1863). He became famous mainly for his portrait sheets.
The Chesky brothers Ivan (1777-1848) and Kozma (1776-1813) are famous for their landscapes.
Fyodor Tolstoy (1783-1873) created 63 engravings with a chisel for Bogdanovich's poem "Darling" in a sketchy manner.
The last significant master of engraving was Ivan Pozhalostin (1837-1909). He is known mainly for his portraits of Russian writers and other figures of national culture.
Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861) showed himself to be a remarkable etcher.
The increased interest in etching among artists leads to the fact that in 1871 in St. Petersburg the "Society of Aquafortists" was formed, which played an important role in the development of Russian etching. Andrey Somov (1830-1908) was its organizer and inspirer. The Society included many Wanderers, but Ivan Shishkin (1832-1898) worked especially hard and fruitfully. He completed over a hundred etchings.
In the 90s. 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The workshop of Vasily Mate (1856-1917) became the artistic center of the art of engraving. He executed about 300 etchings, mostly portraits. Mate did a lot for the development and promotion of the art of engraving. Many artists, including I. Repin, V. Serov, B. Kustodiev, K. Somov, E. Lansere, L. Bakst and others, used his advice, consultations and direct help. Several dozens of students studied with him, among whom it is necessary to name V. Falileev, M. Rundaltsev, P. Schillingovsky. In Soviet times, the art of etching continued to be at a high level. In addition to the artists of the Mate school, such artists as E. Kruglikova, I. Nivinsky, M. Dobrov, A. Skvortsov, N. Pavlov made their contribution. This art form remains popular to this day.
One of the most famous works, where a unique metal carving method is used - Albrecht Dürer's "Melancholy". She is most often associated with his name, as, for example, "La Gioconda" is inextricably linked with Leonardo da Vinci.
Magnificent craftsmanship
But first of all, it is worth dwelling on the very graphics of Dürer, the content of his engravings and the technique of craftsmanship. Because when you look at his engravings, in the works that are called incisive engravings on copper, the incredible technical perfection of the creator surprises. It is incredibly unique, complex and time-consuming.
It was Dürer who created this technique of carved copper engraving. He took a chisel, put his hand on a special pillow so that he could hold it in a certain position for a long time. And during the work on his masterpieces, he did not drive along the copper plate with a chisel, but moved the board itself at hand. Subsequently, the etching process began.
It is necessary to pay attention to his wonderful works "Rhinoceros", "Melancholy", "Knight, Devil and Death". Looking at them, it is impossible to believe that it is possible to do this in this way. What a huge number of lines! And today no one uses the engravings on copper with etching, which was created by Albrecht Dürer. She came with this extraordinary master and left with him.
Three parts of the most magnificent creation of a skilled craftsman
Albrecht Dürer's most famous engraving is Melancholia. It was created in the year one thousand five hundred and fourteen. If you look at it very carefully, you will notice that this engraving is divided into three levels along horizontal lines.
Each of them represents certain stages of knowledge. The artist in this work carefully designates all these levels with certain attributes. If you look closely enough at the items that are depicted in the lower tier, you can see a very interesting set there.
Craft tools or a high level of masterpiece creation
Each tool from Dürer's "Melancholy" engraving, located at this level, refers to craft items: a planer, tongs, a square, a hammer and nails. And the most impressive thing is the perfectly shaped ball. It is he who is a sign of very high skill.
In Albrecht's era, various teachings, technical skills, the ability to make something with one's own hands, knowledge of the anatomy that the animal curled up in the left corner of the engraving represents - all this required the highest levels of education.
At the heart of all this lay the possession of a rather painstaking technical skill. And any tool from the engraving "Melancholy" by Durer emphasized the presence of each of these knowledge. And if the master could create such a sphere, then he has the opportunity to move to the next level of training.
Albrecht Durer. "Melancholy". High quality craft or the next level of intelligence
At the middle level, a wide variety of attributes are visible. And they, at first glance, have no connection with each other. Cute little angel is busy reading a book. At the same time, he sits on the top of the millstone. In all likelihood, this cute boy with small wings represents the area of some kind of intellectual development.
At the belt of the character's robe, which is located to the right of the angel, a purse is fastened. But he lies at her feet. Because money is an appropriate remuneration only for specific work done. And it is possible if you use any tool from the engraving "Melancholy" by Dürer, which is located at the bottom of the picture, related to craftsmanship. But it is impossible to evaluate, it does not have an appropriate payment, so the wallet is also on the lower tier.
A huge crystal located at the middle level of the product
But the main place in the second part of the picture is occupied by a huge crystal. This is the image of what is the goal for any alchemist. In the days of Albrecht's life, in the era of the late Middle Ages, the skill of an artisan was judged by the art of creating a ball, and the highest degree of intellectual knowledge or an absolutely learned person belonged to someone who knew the theorem of the scientist Ibn Sina about the sum of the angles of a polygon.
Albrecht Dürer himself was familiar with this law. "Melancholia" shows the viewer a crystal. He is the polygonal figure representing the famous scientist's theorem. And nearby lies a geologist's tool, showing that such a stone can be obtained not by alchemical means, but more naturally. And one more tool from the engraving "Melancholia" by Durer is the alchemist's crucible, where the process of transmutation takes place, located a little further - behind the crystal.
The work that plunged the whole world into amazement
And finally, the third belt is something incredible. On the right side you can see a very large tower that goes up and never ends. As well as the ladder attached to it and going into the sky. On the building itself, you can see two remarkable items.
This is an hourglass, expressing the image of time, and Durer's magic table, where the number thirty-two is obtained both vertically and horizontally. Above the table is the alarm, and the rope from it goes beyond the outline of the picture created by Albrecht Dürer.
"Melancholia" presents the viewer with this tower as a symbol of the fact that it is impossible to study absolutely all truths. There are things that are limitless for the knowledge of the human mind. And they include not only the skill of an artisan and intellectual education, but also magical teachings.
In Germany, in the gallery "Kunsthalle" is the engraving "Melancholy" by Dürer. In high resolution, the images presented here, of course, do not allow you to feel all the perfection of the work of the author of the work, which plunged the whole world into amazement. But, nevertheless, they help to study this masterpiece and make an analysis of it.
Part of the work relating to earthly existence
The work, which Albrecht Dürer created using the technique of carving on copper, is the painting "Melancholy", which also represents the earthly landscape, located in the upper left corner of the engraving. Infinitely bright shining rays from a distant star. There is a legend that it is depicted here that swept across the sky at that time.
But the main character is a bat, which refers to the symbol of melancholy. She in her paws over the star, rainbow, water and the whole landscape carries a map of this mental illness of all geniuses. Great knowledge breeds sorrow. The more a person knows, the deeper he sees and sinks into black melancholy.
The image of genius or black melancholy
The last figure shown by Dürer is melancholy. The photo presented here shows the image of genius or black melancholy created by the artist. She has huge wings of unusual scope. Like very large angel wings. And in her hands she holds a compass.
With this, Albrecht Dürer wanted to make it clear that any infinity of knowledge must be proven, measured and verified. Everything must be under control. And on the head of the figure is a blooming thorn, which has not yet flown around and does not crash into the forehead with its spikes.
And, perhaps, it is this image of melancholy, which the artist showed, with such a sad look and uniting so much in itself, is one of his self-portraits, only in the image.
Albrecht Dürer is the only one among the world's artists who has an incredible number of self-portraits. He drew the first one when he was just a boy. And then a series of endless images of himself begins, until the very last, where he stands, pointing to the pancreas. It's like he's diagnosing himself.
And this famous engraving "Melancholy" by Albrecht Dürer expresses, first of all, the theme of fate. And all the knowledge presented on it, the three levels of knowledge of sciences and skill, according to the author, ultimately give rise to melancholy. You have to pay a very high spiritual price for everything. So the greatest creator conveyed his state of mind in this picture.