Overview

This book surveys the history of the techniques of engraving, etching and plate printing - i.e. that of manual intaglio printmaking processes - from its beginning in the 1430s until today. These developments are observed in the light of the coherence between the technique of the intaglio print (such as its materials and methods of production); the 'style' or outward appearance of the print; the creator of the print; and the fashion typical of a particular social group, place and time. Economic, educational and social aspects are discussed, as well as the worldwide dissemination of the trade of intaglio printmaking. The author shows how intaglio printmaking developed steadily from the mid-fifteenth century, with the invention of the roller press and the etching of printing plates. By 1525 intaglio printmaking techniques could be said to have reached maturity and spread east and west following the European trade routes and colonisation. Further developments in plate-making resulted from a series of inventions and reinventions. After the abolition of the guilds on the European continent around 1800, and the introduction of photography and the expansion of the graphic industry, the engraving of images became a mere mechanical procedure. The handcrafted print made way for the large-scale mechanised graphic industry which emerged in the middle of the nineteenth century. Consequently artist-etchers withdrew to an elite position to concentrate on the manual aspects of printmaking, which is the situation today. This comprehensively illustrated study is the first of its kind to cover all elements of the trade of engraving and etching throughout six centuries. Based on an exhaustive number of primary sources it will be an essential resource for collectors, curators, conservators, printmakers and students of technical art history.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ad Stijnman
Publisher:   Hes & de Graaf Publishers bv
Imprint:   Hes & de Graaf Publishers bv
Dimensions:   Width: 21.00cm , Height: 4.30cm , Length: 29.00cm
Weight:   2.395kg
ISBN:  

9789061945918

ISBN 10:   9061945917
Pages:   658
Publication Date:   01 January 2012
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction Origin and structure of this study Art history and printmaking Main issues Technique and style Art technology and prints Technical and stylistic developments Graphic art vs. the printing trade Modern intaglio printmaking Working method Art technological source research Historiography Conclusion Chapter 1: Antecedents, early developments and dissemination Engraving Plates Tools Workshops Engraving techniques Intaglio printing Printing support Printing medium Inking Rubbing Printing press Casting Niello proofs Printing editions Printing series Book illustration Colour Etching Basics Pattern welding Copper plating Nitric acid Etching techniques Etching iron printing plates Etching copper printing plates Dissemination of intaglio printmaking techniques Dissemination within Europe, and to Asia, Australia and the Americas Chapter 2: The trade in intaglio printmaking Engravers and plate printers Economics Guilds Engravers Plate printers Discussion Education Workshop training Institutional training Books and articles Discussion The workshop The engraver's workshop The plate printer's workshop The printmaker's workshop Discussion Suppliers Dealers in artists' materials Materials suppliers Press manufacturers Discussion Chapter 3: Producing the Matrix The printing plate Metal plate Non-metal plate Plate production Protecting plates Recycling plates Transferring the design Tracing Pouncing Squaring Offsetting Photography Image and mirror image Mechanical procedures Line Tone Crayon Modern developments Chemical procedures Line Tone Crayon Modern developments Non-manual procedures Replication of intaglio printing plates Mechanical intaglio processes Photomechanical intaglio processes Digital intaglio processes Discussion Chapter 4: Printing the matrix General Printing support Paper Other supports Printing medium Constituents Ink making Interaction between ink and paper Printing press Mechanics of printing The wooden roller press, 1460-1800 Changing from wood to metal, 1800-1850 The metal roller press, 1800-2000 The printmaker's press Mechanisation of intaglio printing Printing procedures Preparations Printing by press Rubbing and casting Printing editions Printing series Colour printing procedures Monochrome printing Polychrome printing Combination techniques Hand-colouring Discussion Summary and Final Conclusions Appendix 1: General chronology of intaglio printmaking processes Appendix 2: Early engravers up to 1500 Appendix 3: Terms in print addresses Introduction List of authorised contents and functions in addresses Glossary Appendix 4: Bibliography of practical manuals Manuals and their influence Abraham Bosse New manuals Maxime Lalanne Stanley Hayter Working manner Definitions and criteria Search methods Keywords Abbreviations Formal terms Public collections Private collections Published and online collections Reference works Bibliographical descriptions Books and manuscripts Articles Appendix 5: Indices to the bibliography of practical manuals Indices to the manuscripts Index by serial number Chronological index General index Places of publication Chronological index Literature Name index Subject index

Reviews

The book is a one-stop shop for historians and collectors of prints. Stijnman's coverage of broader topics, like the professionalisation of the trade, the development of definitions of authenticity in printmaking, and the connections between fine art and book printing, is balanced by detailed studies of the developments of tools, grounds, acids, the roller press, inks, supports and colour printmaking. Apollo - February 2013 The author is uniquely qualified to write this book...As a result, his conclusions have an authority that immediately makes this a standard work, and it can confidently be recommended to any reader. The Burlington Magazine, 177 - March 2013 This is an exhaustive study of the history of intaglio printing. Its discursiveness leads to its great length but also to its value as a reference work. The proponents of both art and technique are well represented, both in text and illustration, much of the latter of good size and in colour. Mr Stijnman, and his publishers, have done a great service to both the art and craft of printing by making this study accessible. The Society of Bookbinders Newsletter - August 2013 It is an example of the kind of mind-boggling research that occasionally happens in the field of prints (one thinks of Bartsch or Hollstein)-research that transforms the field and opens new horizons for future scholars. Engraving and Etching will be indispensable in museum print study rooms, art libraries, for collectors and print dealers for many years to come. Art in Print November - December 2013 Encyclopedic in vision, it moves well beyond the early modern period to cover more than six centuries of printmaking. Given the ambitiously broad chronological span and the close attention paid to technical issues, one might compare Stijnman's book with the standard introductory textbooks by Bamber Gascoigne or Antony Griffiths - but Engraving and Etching 1400-2000 is paradoxically both more focused and more expansive than these other two exceptionally useful volumes. Council for European Studies - December 2013 The wealth of fact, imagery and well-grounded suggestion in this book so excites the memory and imagination. Stijnman answers many questions and solves numerous puzzles, inviting the reader into his inquiry and providing the solid basis for further discussion, research and speculation - a model of true scholarship. Print Quarterly - December 2013 How immensely refreshing to find a respected printmaking scholar and academic who is also a practicing printmaker. Ad Stijnman knows his stuff and understands the art of intaglio printmaking first hand. [...] The edition is beautifully illustrated throughout with examples of intaglio prints ranging through the six centuries studied. [...] It has been an impressive undertaking by Ad Stijnman, who has produced an edition so very dense in terms of information and yet so utterly engaging. Printmaking Today - Vol. 23, Summer 2014 Ad Stijnman's richly illustrated and in-depth study of the history of the techniques of engraving and etching focuses on the development of the intaglio processes, while at the same time throwing light on things that had a direct influence on this development: for example, materials, style, fashion, commercial considerations, and technical innovation. Stijnman brings the reader into the printmaker's workshop and describes in detail the production of prints from start to finish. [...] This work is not only an engaging descriptive study of intaglio processes over the last six hundred years but also a particularly useful reference work that can serve well as a starting point for future research. Sixteenth Century Journal - Vol. XLV/2, 2014

Author Information

Ad Stijnman PhD (Amsterdam) FRHistS is a researcher on historical printmaking materials and processes at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. He has published monographs and numerous articles on the practical aspects of historical printing and printmaking techniques.

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