Printmaking Review 2cd Quarter Unit 2013 Instructor Nancy Carty Visual Art IV Honors

History of Printmaking In Europe the artist Albrecht Durer became famous for his work as an engraver working on both woodblocks and metal plates Durer was responsible for bringing the accomplishments of the Italian Renaissance to Northern Europe in the 1500’s His emphasis on drawing from observation, intense realism as well as anatomy and perspective helped to change the course of art in Germany.

Artist: Albrecht Durer Title: Four Horseman of the Apocalypse Knight, Devil and Death Date : 1513 Engraving This image relies heavily on the medieval use of symbolism The Knight represents a Christian soldier marching into A battle with evil The middle class in Germany Could afford to buy prints And they had the advantage of Being portable

Engraving Techniques Engraving can be done on both wood and metal surfaces. In both instance a stylus or needle like drawing tool is used to scratch lines in the surface of the plate. Once the image is drawn on the surface, ink is wiped into the lines so that the ink stays down in the Small grooves of the design The paper is then placed on top of the plate and a press Is used to force the ink into the paper This type of printing is also called INTAGLIO as the ink is located down in the lines of the design.

St. Jerome in his Study by Durer Another famous engraving by Durer Depicts St Jerome in his study ‘transcribing Biblical literature Most of Europe was illiterate So this image refers to St Jerome as a Renaissance Man with references to His knowledge of Math, History , Music, and the World The skull represents death The lion represents courage Here you see the artist’s mastery of persective, realism and lighting with incredible detail.

Rembrandt Van Rijn Dutch Baroque Artist Rembrandt Van Rijn is one of the Most famous Dutch Baroque artists And was a very famous painter And printmaker He was able to provide a sizable Income working with portraiture The Protestant Reformation had Forced many artists to seek work Beyond the church A rising middle class that could afford Art gave rise to the traditions of Landscape, still life and portraiture

Rembrandt Self Portraits The portrait on the left reveals a youthful Rembrandt and his choice To use the two gold chains points to his wealth and status as a Painter. What does the portrait on the right say about his life?

Rembrandt as Printmaker Rembrandt was also a masterful printmaker and his clients could well afford a print He created many prints using the Bible as a literary source of inspiration He also chose to create a version of St Jerome In the Wilderness and depicts the theme of a lion as a symbol of courage and faith in St. Jerome’s trust in God This image is an engraving created on metal plates. Rembrandt was a master of light and shadow and movement in his prints.

St Jerome in the Wilderness by Rembrandt-1653 Etching and Drypoint Etching involves the use of metal Plates which are covered with a Soft wax ground A design is then scratched into The surface to make the design The plates are then dropped in Acid baths to deepen the lines Into several values The plate is inked, and run through A press This process is called INTAGLIO How does this theme differ from that of Durer?

Compare and Contrast these two prints :

Both prints use the INTAGLIO printing process Both are done on metal plates with a stylus Both artists were able to sell their work to an affluent middle class in Northern Europe Both arist’s rely on the use of symbolism Durer is more focused on scientific realism and spreading knowledge of technical skills he has gained Rembrandt is more interested in depicting a spiritual expression of the Bible In both cases many people could not read

Rembrandt the Nightwatch 1662 Oil Painting on Canvas Why was this painting so Controversial ?

The Syndicate of the Cloth Guild Rembrandt 1662 Oil on Canvas What made this painting so successful ?

Themes of the Baroque Emphasis on dramatic lighting and composition In the North the artists broke away from the church as a patron and concentrated on The development of portraiture, landscape and still life as a way of earning income The last group portrait commission that Rembrandt created was very well received as each individual felt that they were honored in the painting by being represented equally

The Romantic Period in Art History The Romantic Period in Art History incorporated some of the following themes Artists reacted against the strict rules of the Classical and Neo Classical periods The new style emphasized individual emotions and expressions Romantic artists dealt with themes of social injustice, and the inhumanities of man in war, and society Nature and mysticism is revered

Francisco Goya – Spanish painter and printmaker Page 390 Discover Art History Appointed court painter to King Charles the IV of Spain Initially his style was conservative but in 1792 after a severe illness he became DEAF The dark side of the civil war between Spain and France left strong impressions on the horrors of war His print the Sleep of Reason Produces monsters speaks to the horrors he experienced

The Sleep of Reason by Goya

Etching and Aquatint The Sleep of Reason Fransisco Goya Etching ( Intaglio) 1794-1799 The theme here addresses the Nightmares that Goya is having From experiencing the horrors Of war Etching is produced by engraving On metal plates which are then Dropped in to acid baths The shading is called aquatint

Japanese Printmaking In Japan , the impact of Japanese woodcuts had an effect on European art in both Impressionism and Post Impressionism The Japanese were wonderful and technical registration and the art form they produced was Called Ukiyoe or Pictures of the Floating World Edo later called Tokyo was the center for this art form and in general prints were produced on the themes of everyday life, the theatre, and changing weather conditions

Work of Hiroshige One of the most famous Japanese printmakers was called Hokusai and he was famous for showing nature and changing weather conditions in everyday life And the transience of everyday life

Woodcut by Hiroshige

Rain Shower on Ohashi Bridge 1857 Color Woodblock Print by Hiroshige Note the emphasis on the Flat shapes with the strong Negative space Traditional one point Perspective is not used on Japanese Printmaking

Haronobu

INFLUENCE OF JAPANESE PRINTMAKING ON MODERN ART Many artists in the movements of Impressionism and Post Impressionism were influenced by the importation of Japanese prints Their simplified forms and strong flattened shapes against a flat background provided the inspiration for ABSTRACTION in Modern Art

Post Impressionism artists influences from Japanese Prints Toulouse L’Autrec was a printmaker who worked in Paris in the late 1800’s . He was part of the Post Impressionism movement which emphasized color and expression of a personal style His subject matter revolved around the night club scene in Paris and many of his subjects were women As L’Autrec was a hunchback his pessimistic view of women was reflected in unusual lighting and strong dynamic compositions

Lithography Toulouse L’Autrec worked in the medium of Lithography which translates as stone printing, Heavy stones are ground to a smooth finish . A grease crayon or ink is used to draw on the surface of the stone. A chemical solution allows the grease to absorb into the stone . When the stone is ready for printing it is kept wet with water, The oil based ink adheres to the grease only and not the wet watery areas of the stone. Artists had a new freedom to draw their designs directly as a print

Toulouse L’Autrec Lithographic Prints – late 1880’s Moulin Rouge La Goulue 1891 Paris Lithography Poster The new art form was the poster And L’Autrec was hired to design Posters for the Moulin Rouge in

German Expressionism WWI Kathe Kollewitz was the wife of a German doctor during WWI and she was very affected by the loss of life in WWI As part of her efforts to draw attention to the large numbers of widows and orphans she created a series of lithography posters and drawings that increased public awareness of the problems in Germany at that time

Kathe Kollewitz /Artist-early 1930’s Lithography As A Means to Increase Social Awareness In ‘Society

Andy Warhol – POP ART The Pop art movement in the 1960 drew attention to the focus on mass marketing and mass consumption by the American Public Everyday icons like the Campbell Soup Can became symbols of American life and society and hence Andy Warhol used this image as an icon or symbol of an American ideal The medium he used was silkcreen which was used to create all the labels for packaging

Silkcreen techniques In silkscreen the silk fabric is stretched very tightly over a frame. Then a stencil is made on the silk out of paper, or glue or photo sensitive material A large flat scraper or squeegee is used to pull the ink across the holes of the screen and the design is pushed through the holes on to the paper Silk screen lends itself to fast commercial work and is used for advertising ,T SHIRTS, bumper stickers and other commercial venues

Andy Warhol Soup Can 1962 Silkcreen Pop Art

Andy Warhol –Marilyn Monroe 1960’s Silkscreen Warhol wanted to Address the Over use of The symbol of Marilyn Monroe At the expense of Her personal life Mass Exploitation

Conclusion Printmaking offers a view of how the role of artists changed over time with respect to their intentions to make art In some cases the opportunity that making multiple prints provided helped to spread New public awareness on social issues Unfortunately the mass markets of advertising use printmaking to market goods and services