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Blast from the past
Engraving was most popular from the 15th through 19th centuries, and
was frequently used as a means of book illustration. Etching gradually
replaced engraving as a more versatile and less demanding process, and
the advent of photography made engraving virtually obsolete as an
illustration technique. Engraving is rarely used today, except by
artists who favor its direct, precise, rich line.
Making their marks
Engraving is a precise and physically demanding exercise. The matrix
most often used in engraving is a copper plate, because copper is soft
enough to be carved by hand, but hard enough to hold thin lines under
the pressure of printing. Steel plates or very dense, hard wood blocks
are also used. Engravers dig directly into a matrix with a sharp tool
called a graver, a stubby metal knife with a sharp point that is shaped
to create various thicknesses and depths of line. The graver gives the
artist the ability to carve elegantly shaped lines, but requires a
special combination of strength and control to manipulate these lines
into the desired image. A master engraver can use crisscrossed lines
(also called hatching) and dots to create the illusion of a fur collar
on a silk robe, a smooth cheek, or a piercing glance.
Select any of the printmaking techniques listed here in order of
historical development to learn more about it:
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