Printmaking
The printing form creates the possibility of several author's impressions.
Key ideas
In letterpress printing, ink is transferred from the protruding parts of the plate; woodblock printing uses a wooden board. In intaglio printing, including etching, the ink is held in recesses. Lithography is based on the different interactions of surface areas with water and greasy paint.
Looking deeper
Circulation does not make each print a simple reproduction of someone else's original: printed graphics can be an independent work of authorship. Plate conditions, paper, color and printer's work create differences. Find out who made the specific print and when.
Dürer's engravings; etchings by Rembrandt; color woodcuts by Hokusai.
Find the work in the museum's official catalog and start with a description of the visible details.Look in the museum signature for the technique, the date the mold was created, and information about the print.
Useful terms
- Woodcut
- Letterpress printing from a wooden plate: ink is transferred from the raised areas left behind.
- Etching
- A type of intaglio printing where indentations on a metal plate are made by etching.
- Lithography
- Flat printing, using the difference in the properties of printing and non-printing areas of the surface in relation to paint and water.
External educational material or museum catalogue. The above review is not a literal translation of the source.