Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;rpm_1969, post: 3716822, member: 18962&quot;]A point I am not seeing in this thread -- maybe I missed it, sorry if so -- is that a drypoint needle does not remove any of the copper from the plate of an etching, it simply raises the metal into a burr. This copper burr renders a beautiful fuzzy effect, almost like the way paint bleeds into the paper in a watercolor painting. The burr is very fragile, however, and the more prints that are made from the plate, the more the burr wears away under the tons of pressure required to press an etching.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s an example from the British museum of Rembrandt&#039;s etching &quot;Three Gabled Cottages&quot; (Bartsch 217) in an early first state (top) and a later state (bottom). The plate for both is one and the same, but see the way on the topmost tree branches that the burr has worn off on the later print leaving bare lines, whereas the early print had the blurry, smeared effect from the burr.</p><p><br /></p><p>No two etchings are exactly alike though, even two made concurrently, as there will be variables in how the plate was wiped, among others -- it&#039;s handwork. And photographs completely fail to capture the three-dimensionality of what is -- if even on the micro level -- a three-dimensional art form. Under tons of pressure, the paper is forced into the fine lines of the plate to absorb the ink and when finished shows the inked lines as slightly raised from the paper. If you look at an etching nearly sideways in front of a strong light, you will see the raised lines with the naked eye.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]312638[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in