Intaglio (/ɪnˈtælioʊ,-ˈtɑː-/in-TAL-ee-oh, -TAH-;[1] Italian: [inˈtaʎʎo]) is the family of printing and printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink.[2] It is the direct opposite of a relief print where the parts of the matrix that make the image stand above the main surface.
Depressions are engraved or etched into a flat printing plate. Likely not to scale: grooves can be less than a millimetre wide.
The plate is covered in ink.
The ink is wiped off the surface of the plate, but remains in the grooves.
Paper is placed on the plate and compressed, such as by a heavy roller.
The paper is removed, and the ink has been transferred from the plate to the paper.
Micro-topography of an ordinary French post stamp (detail) showing the thickness of ink obtained by intaglio. The words la Poste appeared in white on red background and hence corresponds to areas with a lack of ink.
Banknote portrait pattern made with intaglio printing. Denomination: 1000 Hungarian forint. Depicted area: 18.1 by 13.5 millimetres (0.71 in × 0.53 in).
After the decline of the main relief technique of woodcut around 1550, the intaglio techniques dominated both artistic printmaking as well as most types of illustration and popular prints until the mid 19th century.
In intaglio printing, the lines to be printed are cut into a metal (e.g. copper) plate by means either of a cutting tool called a burin, held in the hand – in which case the process is called engraving; or through the corrosive action of acid – in which case the process is known as etching.[5] In etching, for example, the plate is pre-covered in a thin, acid-resistant resin or wax ground. Using etching needles or burins, the artist or writer (etcher) engraves their image (therefore to be only where the plate beneath is exposed). The plate's ground side is then dipped into acid, or the acid poured onto it. The acid bites into the surface of the plate where it was exposed. Biting is a printmaking term to describe the acid's etching, or incising, of the image; its duration depends on the acid strength, metal's reactivity, temperature, air pressure and the depth desired.[6] After the plate is sufficiently bitten it is removed from the acid bath, the ground is removed gently and the plate is usually dried or cleaned.[7]
To print an intaglio plate, ink or inks are painted, wiped and/or dabbed into the recessed lines (such as with brushes/rubber gloves/rollers). The plate is then rubbed with tarlatan cloth to remove most of its waste (surface ink) and a final smooth wipe is often done with newspaper or old public phone book pages, leaving it in the incisions. Dampened paper will usually be fed against the plate, covered by a blanket, so when pressed by rolling press it is squeezed into the plate's ink-filled grooves with uniform very high pressure.[8] The blanket is then lifted, revealing the paper and printed image. The final stages repeat for each copy needed.
Intaglio printmaking emerged in Europe well after the woodcut print, with the earliest known surviving examples being undated designs for playing cards made in Germany, using drypoint technique, probably in the late 1430s.[9] Engraving had been used by goldsmiths to decorate metalwork, including armor, musical instruments and religious objects since ancient times, and the niello technique, which involved rubbing an alloy into the lines to give a contrasting color, also goes back to late antiquity. Scholars and practitioners of printmaking have suggested that the idea of making prints from engraved plates may well have originated with goldsmiths' practices of taking an impression on paper of a design engraved on an object, in order to keep a record of their work, or to check the quality.[10][11][9]
Martin Schongauer was one of the most significant early artists in the engraving technique, and Albrecht Dürer is one of the most famous intaglio artists. Italian and Dutch engraving began slightly after the Germans, but were well developed by 1500. Drypoint and etching were also German inventions of the fifteenth century, probably by the Housebook Master and Daniel Hopfer respectively.[12][13] In the 15th century, woodcut and engraving served to produce both religious and secular imagery. One of the most popular secular uses of engraver's art was in the production of playing cards, a diversion enjoyed by the aristocracy and the common people.[14]
In the nineteenth century, Viennese printer Karel Klíč introduced a combined intaglio and photographic process. Photogravure retained the smooth continuous tones of photography but was printed using a chemically etched copper plate. This permitted a photographic image to be printed on regular paper, for inclusion in books or albums.[15]
In the 1940s and 1950s the Italian security printer Gualtiero Giori brought intaglio printing into the era of high-technology by developing the first ever six-colour intaglio printing press, designed to print banknotes which combined more artistic possibilities with greater security.[16]
Today, intaglio engraving is used largely for banknotes, passports and some postage stamps.
If the letters are cut into the surface of the engraving plate, then, on the print, they stand slightly proud (see image above). The appearance of engraving is sometimes mimicked for items such as wedding invitations, by skeuomorphic embossment of lettering printed by another process (such as lithography or offset).
^Strauss, Victor (1967). The printing industry: an introduction to its many branches, processes, and products. Washington: Printing Industries of America. ISBN0835202720.
^Mustalish, Rachel (2003). "Printmaking Techniques of the WPA Printmakers". In Lisa Mintz Messinger (ed.). African American Artists, 1929–1945: Prints, Drawings and Paintings in the Metropolitan of Museum of Art (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Yale University Press. pp. 86–88. ISBN0300098774.
^Mueller White, Lucy (2002). "Intaglio Processes". Printmaking as Therapy: Frameworks for Freedom. Jessica Kingsley. pp. 108–109. ISBN1843107082.
^Ellis, Margaret Holben (1987). The Care of Prints and Drawings. Nashville: The American Association for State and Local History, 1987. p. 64.
^"Glossary – Magical-Secrets: A Printmaking Community". magical-secrets.com. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
^"Intaglio Printmaking – artelino". artelino.com. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
^"intaglio – printing". britannica.com. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
^ abHarrison, Charles (2006). "The printed picture in the Renaissance." In Kim Woods (Ed.), Making Renaissance Art. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 219.
^Ross, John (1990). Complete Printmaker. Revised and expanded edition. New York: The Free Press. p. 65.
^Griffiths, Antony (1996). Prints and Printmaking: An introduction to the history and techniques. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 39.
^"Parshall": David Landau & Peter Parshall, The Renaissance Print, Yale, 1996, pp5&23 ISBN0-300-06883-2
^Cohen, Brian D. "Freedom and Resistance in the Act of Engraving (or, Why Dürer Gave up on Etching)," Art in Print Vol. 7 No. 3 (September–October 2017), 18.
^"Printmaking: History and Process". Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1978, P.90 ISBN0-03-085663-9
^. Notes on Photographs. George Eastman House. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
^K. M. M. de Leeuw, Jan Bergstra, The History of Information Security: a Comprehensive Handbook (2007), p. 214
External links
The dictionary definition of intaglio at Wiktionary
Media related to Intaglio (printmaking) at Wikimedia Commons
May 14, 2023
intaglio, printmaking, intaglio, ɑː, italian, inˈtaʎʎo, family, printing, printmaking, techniques, which, image, incised, into, surface, incised, line, sunken, area, holds, direct, opposite, relief, print, where, parts, matrix, that, make, image, stand, above,. Intaglio ɪ n ˈ t ae l i oʊ ˈ t ɑː in TAL ee oh TAH 1 Italian inˈtaʎʎo is the family of printing and printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink 2 It is the direct opposite of a relief print where the parts of the matrix that make the image stand above the main surface Depressions are engraved or etched into a flat printing plate Likely not to scale grooves can be less than a millimetre wide The plate is covered in ink The ink is wiped off the surface of the plate but remains in the grooves Paper is placed on the plate and compressed such as by a heavy roller The paper is removed and the ink has been transferred from the plate to the paper Micro topography of an ordinary French post stamp detail showing the thickness of ink obtained by intaglio The words la Poste appeared in white on red background and hence corresponds to areas with a lack of ink Banknote portrait pattern made with intaglio printing Denomination 1000 Hungarian forint Depicted area 18 1 by 13 5 millimetres 0 71 in 0 53 in Normally copper or in recent times zinc sheets called plates are used as a surface or matrix and the incisions are created by etching engraving drypoint aquatint or mezzotint often in combination 3 Collagraphs may also be printed as intaglio plates 4 After the decline of the main relief technique of woodcut around 1550 the intaglio techniques dominated both artistic printmaking as well as most types of illustration and popular prints until the mid 19th century Contents 1 Process 2 History 3 Current usage 4 Intaglio artists 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksProcess EditIn intaglio printing the lines to be printed are cut into a metal e g copper plate by means either of a cutting tool called a burin held in the hand in which case the process is called engraving or through the corrosive action of acid in which case the process is known as etching 5 In etching for example the plate is pre covered in a thin acid resistant resin or wax ground Using etching needles or burins the artist or writer etcher engraves their image therefore to be only where the plate beneath is exposed The plate s ground side is then dipped into acid or the acid poured onto it The acid bites into the surface of the plate where it was exposed Biting is a printmaking term to describe the acid s etching or incising of the image its duration depends on the acid strength metal s reactivity temperature air pressure and the depth desired 6 After the plate is sufficiently bitten it is removed from the acid bath the ground is removed gently and the plate is usually dried or cleaned 7 To print an intaglio plate ink or inks are painted wiped and or dabbed into the recessed lines such as with brushes rubber gloves rollers The plate is then rubbed with tarlatan cloth to remove most of its waste surface ink and a final smooth wipe is often done with newspaper or old public phone book pages leaving it in the incisions Dampened paper will usually be fed against the plate covered by a blanket so when pressed by rolling press it is squeezed into the plate s ink filled grooves with uniform very high pressure 8 The blanket is then lifted revealing the paper and printed image The final stages repeat for each copy needed History EditMain articles Old master print and Line engraving Intaglio printmaking emerged in Europe well after the woodcut print with the earliest known surviving examples being undated designs for playing cards made in Germany using drypoint technique probably in the late 1430s 9 Engraving had been used by goldsmiths to decorate metalwork including armor musical instruments and religious objects since ancient times and the niello technique which involved rubbing an alloy into the lines to give a contrasting color also goes back to late antiquity Scholars and practitioners of printmaking have suggested that the idea of making prints from engraved plates may well have originated with goldsmiths practices of taking an impression on paper of a design engraved on an object in order to keep a record of their work or to check the quality 10 11 9 Martin Schongauer was one of the most significant early artists in the engraving technique and Albrecht Durer is one of the most famous intaglio artists Italian and Dutch engraving began slightly after the Germans but were well developed by 1500 Drypoint and etching were also German inventions of the fifteenth century probably by the Housebook Master and Daniel Hopfer respectively 12 13 In the 15th century woodcut and engraving served to produce both religious and secular imagery One of the most popular secular uses of engraver s art was in the production of playing cards a diversion enjoyed by the aristocracy and the common people 14 In the nineteenth century Viennese printer Karel Klic introduced a combined intaglio and photographic process Photogravure retained the smooth continuous tones of photography but was printed using a chemically etched copper plate This permitted a photographic image to be printed on regular paper for inclusion in books or albums 15 In the 1940s and 1950s the Italian security printer Gualtiero Giori brought intaglio printing into the era of high technology by developing the first ever six colour intaglio printing press designed to print banknotes which combined more artistic possibilities with greater security 16 Current usage EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Today intaglio engraving is used largely for banknotes passports and some postage stamps If the letters are cut into the surface of the engraving plate then on the print they stand slightly proud see image above The appearance of engraving is sometimes mimicked for items such as wedding invitations by skeuomorphic embossment of lettering printed by another process such as lithography or offset Intaglio artists EditWilliam Blake Albrecht Durer M C Escher Helen Frank Francisco Goya Michael Hafftka Stanley William Hayter Edward Hopper Jasper Johns William Kentridge Max Klinger Kathe Kollwitz Mauricio Lasansky Martin Lewis Lucas van Leyden Cheryl Anne Lorance Malcolm Myers Bruce Onobrakpeya Lothar Osterburg Gabor Peterdi Gene Kloss Pablo Picasso Anton Pieck Krishna Reddy Rembrandt Felicien Rops Ludwig von Siegen Guillermo Silva Santamaria Richard Spare Diane Victor James Abbott McNeill WhistlerSee also EditHistory of printing Rotogravure a type of intaglio printing Viscosity printingReferences Edit intaglio Lexico UK English Dictionary Oxford University Press Archived from the original on November 23 2021 Strauss Victor 1967 The printing industry an introduction to its many branches processes and products Washington Printing Industries of America ISBN 0835202720 Mustalish Rachel 2003 Printmaking Techniques of the WPA Printmakers In Lisa Mintz Messinger ed African American Artists 1929 1945 Prints Drawings and Paintings in the Metropolitan of Museum of Art Metropolitan Museum of Art Yale University Press pp 86 88 ISBN 0300098774 Mueller White Lucy 2002 Intaglio Processes Printmaking as Therapy Frameworks for Freedom Jessica Kingsley pp 108 109 ISBN 1843107082 Ellis Margaret Holben 1987 The Care of Prints and Drawings Nashville The American Association for State and Local History 1987 p 64 Glossary Magical Secrets A Printmaking Community magical secrets com Retrieved 5 June 2016 Intaglio Printmaking artelino artelino com Retrieved 5 June 2016 intaglio printing britannica com Retrieved 5 June 2016 a b Harrison Charles 2006 The printed picture in the Renaissance In Kim Woods Ed Making Renaissance Art New Haven Yale University Press p 219 Ross John 1990 Complete Printmaker Revised and expanded edition New York The Free Press p 65 Griffiths Antony 1996 Prints and Printmaking An introduction to the history and techniques Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California Press p 39 Parshall David Landau amp Peter Parshall The Renaissance Print Yale 1996 pp5 amp 23 ISBN 0 300 06883 2 Cohen Brian D Freedom and Resistance in the Act of Engraving or Why Durer Gave up on Etching Art in Print Vol 7 No 3 September October 2017 18 Printmaking History and Process Holt Rinehart and Winston Inc 1978 P 90 ISBN 0 03 085663 9 Photogravure Notes on Photographs George Eastman House Archived from the original on March 30 2012 Retrieved 24 October 2015 K M M de Leeuw Jan Bergstra The History of Information Security a Comprehensive Handbook 2007 p 214External links Edit The dictionary definition of intaglio at Wiktionary Media related to Intaglio printmaking at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Intaglio printmaking amp oldid 1128853456, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
