engraving

Examples of engraving in the following topics:

• German Woodcuts

  • Printmaking by woodcut and engraving was already more developed in Germany and the Low Countries than anywhere else during the Renaissance.
  • Printmaking by woodcut and engraving was already more developed in Germany and the Low Countries than anywhere else during the Renaissance.
  • Martin Schongauer (c. 1450–1491), from Southern Germany, is credited as the first artist to create an engraving; he was also a well-known painter.
  • He is known for further developing the engraving methods by refining the cross-hatching technique to depict volume and shade.
  • His prints were made in drypoint: he scratched his lines on the plate, leaving them much more shallow than they would be with an engraving.

• Engraving

  • The practice of engraving is wide-reaching; the term can be applied to a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or to a process of intaglio printmaking.
  • Other terms often used for printed engravings are copper engraving, copper-plate engraving or line engraving.
  • The golden age of artistic engraving was 1450–1550.
  • His 116 engravings became well known in Italy and Northern Europe, and frequently copied by other engravers.
  • Schongauer's engravings became well known in Italy and Northern Europe, and frequently copied by other engravers.

• Single Sheets

  • The main printmaking techniques were woodcuts, engravings and etchings.
  • Martin Schonhauer (c. 1450-1491), from Southern Germany, is credited as the first artist to create an engraving; he was also a well-known painter .
  • He is known for further developing the engraving methods by refining the cross-hatching technique to depict volume and shade.
  • Martin Schonhauer is credited as the first artist to create an engraving, and is also a well-known painter.
  • Albrecht Durer, a painter, printmaker, engraver and mathematician, was perhaps one of the most well-known of the Northern artists.

• Drypoint

  • Because the technique of using the needle is close to using a pencil, drypoint is easier to master for students trained in drawing than the method of engraving, which requires a special tool called a burin.
  • This type of line differentiates drypoint from other intaglio methods such as etching or engraving, which produce smooth, hard-edged lines.
  • This technique is different from engraving, in which the incisions are made by removing metal to form depressions in the plate surface which hold ink.
  • Some printmakers will use their hands in this step, because the burrs forming the image are more fragile than etched or engraved lines.
  • Rembrandt used the technique frequently, but usually in conjunction with etching and engraving.

• African Art

  • Originating in the Nile River Valley, early African art depicts a variety of human and animal life executed using both rock-art methods of painting and engraving.
  • Discoveries of engraved stones in the Blombos Caves of South Africa has led some historians to believe that early Homo Sapiens were capable of symbolic art .
  • While they are simpler than prehistoric cave paintings found in Europe, some scholars believe these engraved stones represent the earliest known artworks, dating from circa 75,000 years ago, though this belief has encountered some contestation.

• Bronze Age Rock Carvings

  • Petroglyphs, or rock engravings, exist around the world and range in possible purposes from ritual to communication to narration.
  • Petroglyphs (rock engravings) are images containing pictograms and logograms, created by removing part of a rock surface via incising, picking, carving and/or abrading.

• Paleolithic Sculpture

  • Discoveries of engraved stones and beads in the Blombos Cave of South Africa has led some archaeologists to believe that early Homo sapiens were capable of abstraction and the production of symbolic art.
  • Made from ochre, the stones are engraved with abstract patterns, while the beads are made from Nassarius shells.
  • While they are simpler than prehistoric cave paintings found in Europe, some scholars believe these engraved stones represent the earliest known artworks, dating from 75,000 years ago.
  • Discoveries of engraved stones and beads in the Blombos Cave of South Africa has led some archaeologists to believe that early Homo sapiens were capable of abstraction and the production of symbolic art.

• Etching

  • Along with engraving, etching is one of the most important methods of printmaking in the tradition of the old master prints, and is still in wide use today.
  • The switch to copper plates was probably made in Italy, and thereafter etching soon came to challenge engraving as the most popular medium for artists in printmaking.
  • Its great advantage was that, unlike engraving which requires special skill in metalworking, etching is relatively easy to learn for an artist trained in drawing.
  • Jacques Callot (1592 – 1635) of Lorraine developed the échoppe, which enabled etchers to create a swelling line as engravers were able to do.
  • Now etchers could do the highly detailed work that was previously the monopoly of engravers, and Callot made full use of the new possibilities.

• Etruscan Bronze Sculpture

  • Objects such as mirrors and cistae were engraved or incised with rich imagery made noticeable by a white substance inserted into the outlines and contour lines.
  • These mirrors were highly burnished on one side to reflect an image, and on the other side were decorated with engraved or low relief casted scenes.
  • Cistae were also often inscribed and were also decorated with engravings and added bronze elements, such as feet, chains, and decorative handle lids.
  • Like the mirrors, the engraved scenes represented images from mythology, but some images also depict scenes from Etruscan history.
  • Mirror with an engraving of the Judgment of Paris.

• Mesolithic Art

  • During the Mesolithic period, humans developed cave paintings, engravings, and ceramics to reflect their daily lives.
  • These include cave paintings and engravings, small sculptural artifacts, and early architecture.
  • An engraved shale pendant unearthed in Star Carr, England in 2015 is believed to be the oldest Mesolithic art forms on the island of Great Britain.