- Abstract Expressionism
- A term originally used to describe Wassily Kandinsky's abstract paintings
of the 1920s, but really first used in the modern sense in 1946 to describe
contemporary painting. It was popular from that time until the end of the
1950's. Many painters are still painting in this style. It is the first art
movement to have both a European and American background. It was influenced by
the artists fleeing Hitler, such as Max Ernst, Fernand Legar, and Piet
Mondrian. The term is just what it implies. The paintings are abstractions or
no noticeable relation to anything in nature at all. The object is to express
the inner feelings of the artist toward the subject or the surface that the
painting is on. It is as much an emotional release for the artist as it is
anything else. Look at works by Robert Motherwell, Willem De Kooning, Mark
Rothko, and Jackson Pollock.
- Acrylic
- See Acrylic Painting page.
- Alkyd
- The word is from "alcid," meaning a mixture of alcohol and acid. Alkyd
paints are produced from polyhydric alcohol and polybasic acid. The oils are
combined with a drying oil, such as linseed, to produce the paint. These
paints are not water-based but are thinned with turpentine. They are not as
fast drying as acrylics but are faster drying than oils. They are meant to be
a compromise between the two. They are sold in tubes by various manufacturers.
- Alla Prima
- See Oil Painting page,
Mediums, varnishes, and Solvents
-
- Amber
- The fossil remains of resins derived from conifers. These are sometimes
heated and called copal varnish.
- Aquapasto
- This is a combination of gum Arabic and silica formed into a jelly-like
substance to give an impasto look to water-colours. Not to be confused with
Oleopasto.
-
- Aquatint
- An etching technique that produces an unlimited number of gradations of
tone from black to a very pale grey. It usually will have a granular appearance.
The name is not from the actual technique but the similarity in its look to
that of a water-colour. The technique is usually used in conjunction with
other processes such as engraving or drypoint. The majority of Goya's prints
are done in a combination of aquatint and etched lines.
- Balsams
- These are the oleoresins that are a viscous liquid secreted by coniferous
(evergreen) trees. Although they mix with oils and varnishes, they do not mix
with water. The most popular use of a balsam in painting is probably in Venice
(or Venetian) turpentine.
- Bay Area Figurative
- A style of art or painting that started in the 1940s in the San Francisco
bay area and lasted until the mid 1960s. It was really a reaction to the Abstract
Expressionism that was starting in New York. San Francisco was the second
most influential art centre behind New York after the war. A few of the painters
who were familiar with the work going on in New York were teaching in the
bay area and introduced the Abstract Expressionist style. The artists of the
bay area altered this approach by going back to nature and including a more
figurative imagery. The images were still very abstract and painted with a
lot of expressionist style but with a rejection of total abstraction. Some
of the painters known for this style are Richard Dieberkorn, and David Park.
- Bloom
- The clouding of a varnish surface. This is caused by the water vapour penetrating
the film or being in the film.
- Calligraphy
- Handwriting as art. It probably reached its zenith as an art form in the
12th to 15th century but has undergone a revival in recent years.
- Camaďeu
- A painting or decoration done in varying shades of the same colour. A monochrome
painting.
- Casein
- Strictly speaking, this is the dried lumpy curd of skimmed milk. When
mixed with water and dry pigments it makes an excellent paint. It was very
popular for commercial illustration until acrylics became highly developed.
- Collage
- The term Collage is from the French verb Coller meaning "to
glue." In English it means to attach objects to a surface. It can be used as
either a noun or a verb. The first collage in art was by Picasso, Still
Life with Chair Caning, produced in 1912. After World War 1 the Dada
artists used found objects to make political statements. Since this time
collage has been used by many artists to make statements about our society.
Since it uses real objects it has a particularly strong impact in the form of
social statement. Other artists involved in collage have been Jasper Johns,
Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Hamilton, David Hockney.
- Copal
- Fossilized resins from living plant material. A rather general term that
is easily misused. See Amber. Also see Oil Painting
page, Mediums, varnishes, and Solvents
- Décollage
-
- Dada
- The root of this word in art is unknown; however, many stories exist. Dada
is not an art style but an attitude. It came out of the period just after
World War 1, starting in Zurich and New York and later in Berlin and Paris.
It was a reaction to the destruction of which man was now capable through
technology. It took on the form of sculpture and painting by such artists
as Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, and Jean Arp. It was also expressed in actions
such as the programs at the famous Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich. The art works
were to show that maybe all this new technology was not necessarily for the
good. Some of the paintings showed man as a machine. These works were not
met with enthusiasm at the time but now are considered some of the most important
works of twentieth century art.
- Décollage
- The opposite of collage and beginning soon after. The removing of images
superimposed on each other, such as the deterioration that takes place when
outdoor posters are layered one on top of another and allowed to create a new
image through decay of various parts at various rates. Used most effectively
by the Surrealist Leo Malet beginning in 1934.
- Damar
- See Oil
Painting page, Mediums, varnishes,
and Solvents
- Dry Point
- The printing process of drawing on a metal plate, usually copper or zinc,
with a steel needle. This process is very spontaneous and can almost be called
the same as drawing with a pencil. The print from this is characterised by
the soft ness of line. This is caused by the small burr that is left on the
sides of the furrow made with the needle. This burr breaks down very fast
and changes the look of the print. The number of prints possible with drypoint
is very small, about 30 or so. The proof number is therefore more significant
in drypoint than any other form of printing. Some of the best works ever done
in drypoint were executed by Rembrandt.
- Dryers
- See Siccative.
- Drying Oils
- Oils derived from plants and dried by oxidation, the absorption of oxygen.
When dry they make a tough film. When dry these oils also go through a molecular
change. They are said to polymerize. That means its molecular structure changes
so that it is a different substance and will not change back or be dissolved
by the original diluting. This is important because it allows us to use them
in making paint that can be worked over when it is dry with more of the same
wet paint and not worry about the under layers softening. Used in the making
of oil paints.
-
- Egg Tempera
- The use of egg, (either the whole egg or just the white or just the yolk,
but using just the yolk is most common), mixed with water and pigment to make
a paint. This process dates back to the Egyptians where there are examples
of sarcophagi being decorated with them that are still in tact today. It is
painted on solid supports and is capable of great detail as well as many other
effects. It is very fast drying so does not lend itself to blending very well.
It was the primary form of painting until the introduction of oils. At first,
and still some today, oils were painted over the tempera painting to enhance
the darker colours. Some of the most famous painters to use the medium in
this century have been Andrew Weyeth, Robert Vickery, and Paul Cadmus.
- Encaustic
- Encaustic is a form of painting done with beeswax. It dates back to the
Egyptians and Greeks, (the word comes from the Greek word
encaustikos, meaning "to burn in"). It is not used much today because
of the difficulty of the process. The most famous of modern painters to work
in this medium is probably Jasper Johns. The paintings created by this process
are very permanent and will withstand almost everything except extreme heat
and cold. The medium is especially suited to impasto and knife work. The paint
is made by mixing beeswax with pigment and a resin such as damar varnish.
These are mixed while being heated on some sort of hot plate to about
150°-200° F. The paint is then allowed to cool into paint sticks. A palette is
prepared by rubbing the dry sticks of paint on a heated palette. The hot,
liquid paint is then painted on a rigid surface. When the paint has dried
(this happens very fast) and the painting is done, the whole painting is then
laid on a flat surface and a heat lamp is passed over the surface until the
whole thing has fused together and to the support. This is a very tedious
process, requires a lot of equipment, and if not done properly, could be
dangerous.
- Engraving
- The printing process of drawing on a metal plate, usually copper or zinc,
with a steel needle. This process is very spontaneous and can almost be called
the same as drawing with a pencil. The print from this is characterised by
the soft Ness of line. This is caused by the small burr that is left on the
sides of the furrow made with the needle. This burr breaks down very fast
and changes the look of the print. The number of prints possible with drypoint
is very small, about 30 or so. The proof number is therefore more significant
in drypoint than any other form of printing. Some of the best works ever done
in drypoint were executed by Rembrandt.
- Etching
- A etching is a print produced by the printing method known by the same
name. It is done by coating a copper or zinc plate with a wax or similar
protective shield and then the drawing is produced on the surface with a
needle. Only the coating is cut not the plate. When the drawing is complete
the plate is submerged in an acid bath and the areas that were exposed by the
needle are cut by the acid. Then the plate is cleaned and inked and then wiped
so ink in only in the recesses. The plate is then put in a press were it is
pressed hard against a damp print paper. The resulting print is a reverse of
the original drawing on the plate This process dates back to about 1500. The
first dated print is from 1513. During the time of Rembrandt (1606-1669) and
with his help, etchings became the most popular printing form. Other later
artists known for their etchings are Goya, Whistler, Picasso, and Chagall.
- Expressionism
- This is an style of art that is based on expressing the artists
emotions. It is in direct opposition to the cerebral art of Geometric
Abstraction. It is also not to be confused with Impressionism, which is also
far different in its attempt to depict certain forms of lighting effects.
Expressionism is not from a particular period but started at the end of the
nineteenth century with such artists as Vincent van Gogh and later with the
Fauves such as Henri Matisse. Most often the term is used as part of a
movements name such as the German Expressionist or the Abstract
Expressionists. It is really any painting that is primarily based on the
release of the artists emotions.
- Figurative
- This term has two meanings at first it was used to mean any painting that
concerned itself with the representation of nature, human figures, landscapes,
and still lifes. Lately it has become used it mean any painting of the human
figure. This later meaning is becoming more common.
- Fixative
- Any for various sprays that are applied to a picture or drawing to hold
the particles of pigment to the surface. The spray may be either workable,
allowing for some erasure or nonworkable and are much harder to work over.
They can be purchased in spray cans or used with an atomiser. Most commonly
used with pastel and charcoal drawings.
- Flake White
- Lead white. A warm, fast drying white used extensively in oil painting.
- Frottage
- See Oil
Painting page, Mediums, varnishes,
and Solvents
-
- Gesso
- From the Italian for gypsum or plaster. This is used in the making of
grounds for painting. The traditional gesso is made from a combination of hide
glue and whiting, sometimes with pigment added. It makes a smooth hard
non-yellowing surface that is very absorbent. This ground is only for rigid
supports because it is brittle. There are other gesso grounds made of half
chalk and half oil. These can be used on flexible surfaces. The most common
use of the term "gesso" today, is in the acrylic gessoes. They are not as
absorbent as the traditional ones, but are very strong and flexible. They can
be used on any clean surface. They come ready made in various sized
containers.
- Glair
- Egg whites beaten until they are frothy, and mixed with a little water,
and then let to stand until the froth disappears. This has been used for
centuries as the adhesive for gilding and as the binder for paints used in
manuscript illumination.
- Glaze
- The technique of putting one transparent colour. over another, already dry
colour. Used in almost all mediums. Most talked about in oil and acrylics.
- Graffiti Art
- An art form most popular during the 1970's and 1980's but still alive
today. The word Graffiti is the plural word for scratch in Italian. The actual
practice of graffiti goes back to the Egyptians but it was not thought of as
an art form until the 1970's when the art world saw the work of street teens
in the New York subways. There were some shows and artists acknowledged but as
soon as the raw street art came into the galleries of New York, the interest
faded.
- Gilding
- Affixing thin metal leaf to a surface to give the effect of solid or
inlaid metal. It is a very old technique that goes back to the Egyptians and
the Chinese. It reached its highest point at the end of the 19th century and
the beginning of the 20th century with Victorian fashion and in the gilding of
gold picture frames.
- Hardboard
- Panels of shredded wood that is glued together with its own natural
adhesive called lignin. It is excellent as a painting surface. It resists
warping and swelling. It is made in two types, tempered and untempered. The
tempered is impregnated with oil to aid in resisting moisture. It is harder
and has a smoother surface. The surface of the tempered should be sanded to
roughen it before priming. Both surfaces are good for painting.
- Hard-Edge Painting
- A term first use in 1958 by the critic Jules Langsner to describe the work
of West Coast painters rejecting the brushy look of Abstract Expressionism.
It later became used for all American work that treated the picture surface
as a single flat surface. These painting took on a geometrical look and usually
had a limited palette. The style was popular through the 1950's and was practised
by such painters as Kenneth Noland, Ellsworth Kelly, and Karl Benjamin.
- Hide Glue
- Most commonly known as rabbitskin glue. A glue made from skins and bones
of animals. Can be bought in sheets, powdered granules, or in powder. Mixed
with hot water in various proportions it makes a very strong binder and good
sealer. It is used in preparing grounds.
- Impasto
- A painting technique where the paint is thick enough to have actual form.
The strokes themselves create some of the effect. Rembrandt was one who
employed this technique to great success.
- India ink
- India ink originated in China, but was named so by the fact that the
pigment used in making it came from India. The pigment is lampblack, bone
black, or carbon black. Traditionally, it is mixed with a hot hide glue in the
proportions of 1 part pigment to 2 or 3 parts glue and dried into sticks.
These are rubbed on stone and the particles mixed with water. When it is
manufactured in liquid form and sold in bottles the pigment is mixed with a
little shellac which makes it water-resistant. This ink is considered quite
lightfast. It is not to be confused with the inks made for many technical
pens, many of which are not water-resistant and not lightfast. India ink can
be use with pens or brushes.
- Installation
- This term is used in art to mean any work that is designed to be set up
for viewing by the public. It is often designed for a specific site. They
were first used in art in the 1970's and are still being done today. They
are not as common today perhaps because of their unsalability. Most are only
installed for a short time and then either moved or dismantled. They can include
any number or type of objects and activities imaginable. Some of the artists
involved are Joseph Beuys, Daniel Buren, Donald Lipski.
- Intaglio
- Any print or printing process that uses the the idea of the ink being in
recessed grooves in the plate. The plates are inked and then wiped. The print
is made by pressing a damp print paper in the plate and the ink is drawn up
out of the grooves and onto the paper. Some of the processes included in this
category are etching, engraving, drypoint, and photogravure
- Japan dryer
- An alkyd resin-based liquid dryer for oils.
- Junk Sculpture
- Mostly known in the 1950's. Really started by Kurt Schwitters, the German
Dada artist, who made assemblages from things found in the streets after World
War I. As an art form it seemed to gain speed during the period after World
War II with the manufacture of so much throwaway merchandise by the United
States. These products were glued and welded together to make artwork which
made varying statements on our culture. Artists include Cesar, Lee Bontecou,
Robert Raushenberg, Jean Tinguely.
- Kinetic Sculpture
- Any sculpture that contains moving parts. It started with the Dada artist,
Marcel Duchamp, with his spinning bicycle wheel on a stool in 1913. The root
of this style is connected by the interest in modern technology. This art
form was most popular during the 1950's and 1960's. Today it is still being
carried on by some and is including work with lasers, computers and other
high-tech methods. Some of the founders were, Jean Tinguely, George Rickey.
- Kitsch
- This term refers to the "low-art" artefacts of everyday life. Paintings
of Elvis on velvet, lamps from the statue of David and clocks in statues of
Buddha. The term comes from the German verkitschen meaning (to make
cheap). It has been made popular in the years since the beginning of pop art.
These objects are now revered by collectors as "camp" making low art into
high art.
- Lay figure
- Mannequin. Used to study and draw from when a model is not possible. There
are lay figures of people and of some animals such as horses.
- Limited Edition
- This is when the artist promises to not make more than a specified amount
of prints. In the old days of printing the artist would destroy the plate or
stone that the print was made from so no more could be made. This is still
true today of the traditional printing methods but most prints are made by
offset photolithography, called lithographs and, since they are produced by
the means of photographing an original, the buyer only has the word of the
artist. An edition can be of any length. For the most part really fine art
prints are limited to 200 to 300 prints. Most of the offset prints are more in
the area of 1000 copies. Some are far larger than that. There is no limit to
the number of prints that could be made on a modern press. In the old days the
number of prints was very limited and the higher the number the poorer the
print. Today the last one is just the same as the first.
- Linseed oil
- An extraction from the seed of the flax plant, the same plant that is used
to make linen for canvas. See Oil Painting
page, Mediums, Varnishes
and Solvents.
-
- Licit
- A painting medium manufactured by Whiner & Newton. It is excellent used
with oils or alkyds. It speeds up the drying of oils, makes them more crushable
and gives gloss. Also adds transparency. Very good for glazing. It also resists
yellowing.
- Lithograph
- This is a printing process based on the fact that oil and water don't mix.
It originated in Solnhofen, Germany, where in 1798 Alois Senefelder discovered
that when a greasy crayon was used to draw on a smooth limestone surface and
then the surface was covered with water and then with ink the ink would only
stick to the stone where the greasy crayon had drawn marks. Paper could then
be pressed on this surface and a print made of the drawing The process was
soon refined and rapidly became a favourite printing method of artists. It
was used by such great artists as Goya, Daumier, Géricault, Delacroix, Degas,
Munch, Toulouse-Lautrec. In the twentieth century it has been used by such
artists as Picasso, and Miro.
-
- Lithography is sometimes confused with the photomechanical printing method
of Offset Lithography. This is a very big mistake. The process of traditional
lithography is a very time consuming and delicate work. The photomechanical
process is the one used for almost all printing today from magazines to newspapers
to the fine art prints sold in most galleries. The only difference between
the fine art printing and the newspaper is the quality of the paper and the
care given to the printing process.
- Luminism
- The depiction of light in a painting. Any school of painting where the
central theme is the depiction of lighting effects. Such as pointillism and
impressionism.
- Manipulated Photography
- Any photograph that has been altered by any means. The attempt here is to
enhance the effect of the photograph by further manipulation. This has been
used as an art form since the mid 1970's. Some artists working in the medium
are Lucas Samaras, Joel-Peter Witkin, Deborah Turberville.
- Mat
- Matting is the most popular way to protect works on paper when framing.
There are many companies providing a wide range of colours. and surfaces in
various grades from standard to museum quality. Mats are cut into frames to
be put in heavier frames so the artwork will be protected from the elements
and from any of the surfaces that might harm it.
- Masstone
- Sometimes called body colour. This is the hue that is seen when a pile of
the paint is sitting alone.
- Mastic
- A resin from the pistachio tree and is from the Mediterranean areas of
southern Europe. In painting, it is used to the making of varnishes. It adds
in paint manipulation and gives a glossy finish but will bloom, darken and
yellow so is inferior to most other varnishes. It was used in the nineteenth
century in a mixture called Meglip, but the paintings in which it was used
were subject to defects. Not to be used as a medium
- Maul Stick
- A wooden stick of various length (usually about 2 feet ) with a wooden or
cloth ball at one end. The end is put on a dry section of the painting and the
stick is used as a support, upon which, the brush hand, can be rested to
steady the brush.
- Mezzotint
- A relief printing method that reverses the engraving process. A metal plate
is abraded with a special tool and is made to have an over-all burr. It would
print a solid soft black. The design is then made by smoothing the surface
with a burnisher so that it will not print in the burnished areas. The name
comes from the combination of the Italian words mezzo, meaning half, and tinta,
meaning tone. This combination giving the word mezzotint or halftone. This
is the unique property of this method in that with varying degrees of burnishing
different degrees of darkness can be achieved. The main drawbacks to this
method is the lack of fine detail and the labour of preparing the steel plate.
- Mineral Spirits
- See Oil
Painting page, Mediums, varnishes,
and Solvents
- Naive art
- Artwork that is produced by artists without formal training. Probably the
best-known artist of this type is Grandma Moses. The style is generally childlike
and innocent but will have an unusual sensitive touch and a natural understanding
of composition and spatial organisation. This style should not be confused
with folk art. Folk art contains functional forms that are specific to a culture.
- Oil of cloves
- From the blossoms of the clove tree. Very light in hue. The darker comes
from the branches. For painting, it is used to make oil painting mediums. It
is very slow drying and should be used sparingly in "alla prima" techniques.
It is sometimes used in restoration work.
- Oleopasto
- An alkyd resin based substance manufactured by Winsor & Newton.
Excellent for adding body to oil or alkyd paints. Can also be used as an
extender. It will reduce the drying times when used with oils. (I like to mix
it with white to speed up the drying).
- Op Art
- Short for optical art. This term was coined in 1964 by George Rickey. This
style is abstract by nature and is based on trying to cause the illusion of
movement with a stationary two dimensional surface. It reached its peak in
popularity in the mid 1960's and then soon faded away but enjoyed a small
reassurance in the 1980's. Some of the artists involved were, Bridget Riley,
Yaacov Agam, and Victor Vasarely.
- Opaque
- The amount of transparency of a colour. or surface. The amount of light
a surface will let go through it. All colours. that have white added have
a certain about of opacity.
- Photomontage
- A collage technique that uses parts of photographs. One
artist known for this is David Hockney.
- No entries yet
- Realism
- Art which is an accurate depiction of nature. This is a term that is used
in the most general sense. The term originated in the mid nineteenth-century,
in France, when the painter Gustave Courbet said that since he had never seen
an angel he could certainly never paint one. He devoted his live to painting
the life around him. Realism was a big part of the art world until the 1950's
when it was almost eliminated from critical consideration. It resurfaced in
the 1960's with Pop art and the new realism. Today it is still a big part
of the art world and argued all the time as to its merits. Sometimes there
is a very fine line between realism in height art and hack art.
- Scumble
- Scumbling is the technique of putting a semidry paint over an existing dry
paint in such a way as to create a haze. This is done with semi-opaque or
opaque paint and is used mostly in oil and acrylic painting.
- Shade
- The property of a colour. that is the darkness of the colour. When a colour.
is darker than it is in its pure form, it is said to be a shade of that colour.
- Siccative
- Metallic salts that are mixed with paint to speed up the drying process.
They should be used sparingly. They can cause cracking and brittleness.
- Stand oil
- See Oil
Painting page, Mediums, varnishes,
and Solvents
- Surrealism
-
- A term that is much abused and misused now days. It was coined in 1917
but was really given birth by the French poet André Breton in 1924 when
he defined it as "pure psychic automatism by which it is intended to express.....
the true function of thought. Thought dictated in the absence of all control
exerted by reason, and outside all aesthetic or moral preoccupation."
Surrealism followed hard on the heels of Dada. It was a psychological
approach to Dada art. It went in two directions in the 1920's, one the
dream world of painters like Salvador Dali, which were painted in precise
realist style, the other, was the work of painters such as Joan Miró and
André Masson. These were loosely drawn figures or form shown in shallow
space. The last official surrealist painter was Ashile Gorky working in
New York. Other painters of note are Jean ARP, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Yves
Tanguy, Remedios Varo, Pablo Picasso, and René Magritte.
- Tanagra figurines
- Small painted terracotta statuettes from ancient Greece. Usually depicting
every day life. Named after a small town in Boeotia that was an important
site of their production in the latter part of the 4th and 3rd century
BC
- Tint
- The property of a colour. that is the lightness of the colour. When
a colour. is lighter than it is in its pure form, it is said to be a tint
of that colour.
- Triptych
- A set of three paintings, related in subject and set side by side. Originally
used as altarpieces. Works in this style date from the mediaeval time.
Today we see the style used in many decorative paintings.
- Trompe l'oeil
- A French term meaning deception of the eye. In painting is is used to
classify paintings that are painted so realistically as to fool the viewer
into thinking the objects in the painting are not painted but real. One
of the famous painters in the style is the 19th century painter, William
Michael Harnett.
- Turpentine
- See Oil
Painting page,
Mediums, varnishes, and Solvents
- Undertone
- The property of a colour. that can be seen when it is mixed with a large
amount of white into a tint or spread very thin on a surface such as a
water-colour. wash. The stronger the under tone, the more pigment that
is in the paint.
- Varnish
- See Oil
Painting page, Mediums, varnishes,
and Solvents
- Veduta
-
- A depiction of a whole or large portion of a town or city. Paranesi's
engravings of Rome are a good example. A venduta ideata is a scene which
is realistically conceived but is completely imaginary.
- Venetian school
- The painters leading the development of oil painting in Venice during
the 16th century. Characterise by paintings with a rich glowing warmth
caused by the building up of layers. These painters also were pioneers
in the use of secular subjects. Among the leading artists of this school
were Giorgione, Bellini, Titian, and Tintoretto.
- Venice Turpentine
- See Oil
Painting page, Mediums, varnishes,
and Solvents
- Walnut oil
- A natural drying oil. Used in the mixing and grinding of oil colours.
Yellows less than linseed oil, but more than safflower oil. This makes
it good for making light colours. It dries relatively fast but is very
expensive.
- Whiting
- Chalk. Made from calcium carbonate, derived from limestone or dolomite.
Whiting can come in various grades of coarseness. For painting, it is
used in the making of gesso.
- Wood engraving
- A relief printing technque where a block of wood is incised with a special
tool to create the printing surface. The wood is cut transversely to create
an end grain. Only very hard wood is used, such as box wood or red maple.
The drawing is transferred to the surface and then the cutting is done.
The design is made by the nonprinting area of the block. This process
was developed in England in the 18th century. William Blake used this
process and by the mid nineteenth century it was the standard method of
illustrating books and magazines. The use of the process for these purposes
came to an end with the introduction of photoengraving. Scratchboard
imitates the wood engraving technique.
- Woodcut
- A relief printing technique in which the printing surface is carved
with special tools in a solid block of wood. The wood is cut longitudinally
from the tree so the grain runs the length of the block. The block is
cut and then inked with a brayer or dabber. The paper is then placed in
the block and the whole thing run through a press or rubbed over by a
baren or the bowl of a large spoon. This art form was developed in Europe
in the 14th century. The oldest prints from wood blocks are playing cards.
It reached its height in skill with the work of skilled artisans carrying
out the designs of such great artists as Albrecht Dürer. The use of etchings
and line engravings pushed woodcuts out of the centre of attention for
fine art in the 17th century. It was revived as an artistic medium in
the 18th century by such artists as Gauguin and Millet. Edvard Munch designed,
cut, and printed his own woodcuts adding to the revival.
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Copyright ©2000 Baldocchi Art Studios. All rights reserved.
Revised: 09.15.2000
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