Understanding Copper Engraving: Techniques and History
Understanding Copper Engraving
Margins in Copper Engravings
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, margins were largely minimal, barely leaving room. The three recorded measurements were nearly the same, even if the engraver used to cut the margin.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, margins were very large and sometimes exceeded the size of the image.
Signatures on Copper Engravings
Signatures are usually at the bottom and within the footprint of the engraving. They are often engraved on the plate and usually appear as follows:
On the left, the name of the inventor: This is usually a painter whose work is recorded, but sometimes it is a cartoonist who has made the design specifically for the engraver.
In the middle, the name of the artist: This is who prepares the work for the engraver, turning paintings into line and black and white images.
To the right, the engraver’s name: The names of the artists are accompanied by a word indicating the function of each. These functions are expressed in Latin or the vernacular:
- Engraver: Sculpsit, incidit, fecit
- Inventor: Pinxit, delineavit
- Cartoonist: Excudit, Formis, apud
Later defined editor (excudit), engraver (Impresit).
Tests in Copper Engraving
There are three kinds of tests prior to the roll:
State-Test: This is what the artist makes behind the plate separation to check the result and serves to define the changes to be made.
Test-test: The specimens which the editor prints to find the best conditions for the hunt.
Test-artist: These are individuals that the artist himself keeps and those outside the trade.
Casts in Copper Engraving
Formerly, there was no limit to the number of copies in circulation. Copies were made until the plate wore out. The plate would be tweaked, and copper tended to be crushed, with the finest strokes disappearing.
Currently, a limit is placed on the spin to maintain the quality of the work and for business purposes. Therefore, after printing, the plate is destroyed, reinforcing the idea of a unique artwork. Each sheet specifies the number engraved on the roll and the number of prints pulled. For example: 11 / 90.
Engraving Intaglio with an Engraving Tool
The idea came from goldsmiths who used a burin to record drawings on sheets of metal. They drew from casts and tests to serve as models for the workshop. The first burin engravings were in Germany and Flanders in the fourth decade of the fifteenth century. By 1460, they were emerging independently in Florence. Vasari credited the goldsmith Maso Finiguerra with inventing it; he wrote for the second Ghiberti doors of the Baptistery of Florence with Pollaiolo.
Some major artists who used this technique were Durer, Lucas of Leyden, and Marcantonio Raimondi. This technique allows for shades of gray grade crossing lines and was used to reproduce prints of Old Master paintings. The intaglio prints can be distinguished by characteristics of diamond networks and are often used to strengthen the lines of the etching and can be seen in the drawing of bank notes.
Creation of a Process with Engraved Printing
There is a certain process that is conducted for this accomplishment.
Punta Seca (Drypoint)
The drypoint technique is similar to the chisel. The instrument is a drypoint needle-shaped steel of circular section is managed by two or three fingers and pulse, keeping it upright to the plane of the plate. The end of the drypoint is characterized by being thinner than the chisel, lack of edge and scratch the metal. With these features are produced grooves that vary in depth but the width is the same. Lift the sides filings that are attached to the iron (beards, burrs or