The ABC's of Fine Art

ART LINGO
It's easy to talk the talk after a quick look these terms and conditions
 

Antique Print: An antique or early impression is an original print taken from a plate at the time of its creation, usually during the 1800s or before.

Aquatint: A print made by etching a metal plate so that tones similar to watercolors can be made. Tones are produced by dusting the plate with powdered resin before it is etched. The plate is placed in an acid bath which produces a soft pattern onto the metal where the powder is not present. The artist then draws or etches their desired image into the altered plate. Unlike regular etching, the artist can achieve gradated shades between light gray and black. Color aquatints can be extraordinary because of the gradation of colors possible. Aquatint is a very difficult medium because a sizable number of acid baths are required. Because of its difficulty, aquatint etching is rapidly becoming a lost art.

Artist’s Proof or A/P: One of the first impressions printed as the artist experiments with the printmaking process. A print pulled for the artist’s approval and personal use. Sometimes used by the artist to establish the standard for all of the other prints in the edition.

Chine Colle: French for “Chinese Collage”. A method of adhering a thin paper, sometimes a different color or texture, onto a larger, heavier sheet during the printing process using glue or water.

Chromolithograph: Stone lithographs with more than one color are called chromolithographs. In this process, a different stone is used for each color. The various color inks are actually printed on top of each other. This requires a very precise alignment of the stones to the paper.

Delineavit: Thsi means "has drawn it". This phrase was sometimes written by the artist in etching or stone lithograph margins, especially in the 1920s.

Drypoint Etching: The artist does not cover the plate with wax-like material, but carves grooves directly onto the plate using a diamond-tip instrument. Unlike etching, drypoint leaves furrows of metal “burr” on either side of the cut. The image is printed just like an etching, however the drypoint lines with their burrs print soft and velvety, unlike the clean-edged lines of an etching. Because of the delicacy of the burrs, it is rare to see more than 20 prints pulled from a drypoint plate.

Engraving: To create an engraving, the artist uses a burin, a metal tool with a diagonal point at the end to cut an image directly on to a metal plate. Although the results are similar to an etching, the process of cutting the plate by hand can be more arduous because of the hardness of the metal.

Etching: Etchings begin when an artist uses a sharp needle to carve an image on the surface of a copper or zinc plate which has been covered with a sort of wax called a “ground”. Then the plate is put into acid which eats away or “bites” the lines but not the area covered with wax. The longer the acid bath, the darker the lines. After this, the wax is removed, and the plate inked and wiped again so only the etched lines of the image have ink. Damp paper is placed on the plate and they are run through an etching press. The etching process is lengthy and difficult, not to mention messy and dangerous because of toxic fumes. Etching as an art has been around for a long time and was widely popular when the Mayflower departed for America.

Giclee or Iris Prints: Prints made by a computerized reproduction technique in which the image is generated from a digital file and printed by a special ink jet printer using ink, or acrylic or oil paints. This type of printing offers exceptional color and the highest degrees of accuracy of any modern fine art reproduction technique.

Impressit: Has printed it. This term almost exclusively means the art work was printed on a hand-turned rolling press.

Intaglio Printing: Includes: etching, engraving, drypoint, mezzotint, aquatint, collographs. In intaglio (pronounced een/TAHL/yoh) printing, the ink is picked up from acid-etched lines and textured areas below the surface. The image is transferred from the plate to the paper by extreme pressure from an etching press. Many effects can be achieved with intaglio printing from crisp, precise lines to velvety blacks. Relief printing is the reverse of intaglio printing.

Late Impression: An original print made from an antique plate in modern times.

Linocut: Like a woodcut except the artist carves the image out of linoleum. Linoleum blocks were first used in the early 1900s almost as soon as linoleum was invented. It was cheaper and easier to find than certain woods and printmakers embraced it whole heartedly.

Lithograph: Lithography comes from the Greek words “lithos” meaning stone and graphien meaning to draw. It is based on the principle that grease and water do not mix. The artist draws directly on a flat stone using a greasy crayon. The stone is then wetted with water and then inked. The oily ink clings to the greasy crayon areas but not to the wet parts of the stone. Paper is placed on top of the stone and then pressed together through a hand-cranked press. When the artist pulls the paper away from the stone they see the inked area (the image) has been transferred to the paper. This process was developed in Germany in the late 18th century around the time our Constitution was ratified.

Mezzotint: In Italian it means medium shade, which refers to the range of shades possible. Mezzotints are created like etchings except the entire surface of the plate is roughened by a spiked tool called a rocker. If inked at this point, the entire plate would print in solid black. The artist then works from dark to light by scraping out an image to produce lighter tones. Mezzotint was invented in the 1600s as a means of reproducing and recording the images of oil paintings. Replaced by other means, it was revived around 1950 by a few artists willing to undertake an arduous art form.

Monoprint or Monotype: An edition consisting of one print.

Original Prints: Original prints are those in which the artist has prepared the woodblock, silk screens, etching plates, etc. and has hand-pulled each from the press. No photomechanical production methods are used to make original prints. Because each print is inked separately and hand-pulled by the artist, each is considered unique. They have the potential to appreciate in value unlike most reproduction prints.

Planographic Printing: Includes lithographs. This is the process of printing impressions from a smooth surface rather than creating incised or relief areas on a plate.

Pochoir: A complicated process used in the early 20th century using a large number of stencils to produce intricate prints. Each stencil (cut from tin, copper or oiled paper) had to be perfectly aligned over the paper. Then stencil brushes or rollers were used to apply the paint or ink to the paper. Though laborious, the results were often stunning.

Relief Printing: Includes woodcuts, wood engravings, linocuts and embossing. In a relief print, all areas that will appear white in the finished print are carved away from the wood or linoleum block. The printed image is created from the raised portion left in “relief”. Ink is applied to the relief areas and transferred onto paper with a press or by hand-rubbing. Relief prints are characterized by bold dark and light contrasts. The reverse process is known as intaglio printing.

Reproduction Prints: Reproduction prints use cameras and/or computers to replicate works of art. To determine if a work of art is a reproduction simply ask, “Was a photomechanical process used to make this print?” If the answer is yes, then it is a reproduction. Or ask, “Is this print a reproduction of an existing work of art?” Fine reproduction prints are growing in popularity as antique or early 20th century images are destroyed by natural causes, are collected out or become unaffordable.

Silk Screen or Serigraph: The terms silk screen and serigraph are synonymous. Both refer prints made by the stencil method. The artist prepares a tightly stretched mesh screen, usually of silk, and blocks out those areas not to be printed with a varnish-like substance. Paper is placed under the screen and with a squeegee and ink is forced through the areas that have not been blocked. Each ink color is applied separately frequently using an entirely new screen. Obviously, the alignment of each and every screen is critical. A slight misalignment can have disastrous results such as overlapping color fields or lips off to the side of the face. Some master printmakers have used over 25 separate screens and colors. Silk screen, the only method in fine art printmaking that originated in America, began in the late 1920s and 30s.

Trial or Working Proof: An early proof often incorporating an artist’s revisions and changes. Generally Trial Proofs are not identical to the final image.

Woodcut or Woodblock: The artist draws an image on a block of wood. Then he removes a layer of the wood that surrounds the image. The wood is inked and paper placed on top of it. The paper is pressed by hand or by press until the inked image is transferred to the paper. The traditional wood block was a seasoned hardwood such as apple, beech or sycamore. However, American woodcuts beginning in the early 20th century were from softer woods such as pine and bass. Woodcut may be the oldest form of printing. It was first used by the Chinese in the 12th century and later in Europe around 14th century. Woodcuts as a fine art medium emerged in America around the time of the World War I.

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