Etching? Engraving? Who Knows???????
Etching or Engraving? Or a copy? More and more people are recognizing the intricate printmaking artforms, both highly collectible. Each is a unique process. This review is meant to help you understand the difference between an etching and an engraving. Each medium will be expanded upon in greater detail in future guides.
ETCHINGS
With an etching, an artist will take a plate and cover it with a wax ‘ground’. He then takes an etching needle and draws the design into the ground, removing the wax ground. The plate is submerged into a series of acid baths which ‘eat’ or corrode the plate where the wax ground has been removed, leaving a depression in the plate. The remainder of the wax is then removed from the plate. Ink is applied, filling the depressions and the flat surface of the plate is wiped clean, leaving the ink in the depressions only. The plate is then applied to paper with pressure, rendering a print.
Often times when an etcher is working on a plate he will make a small
design in the lower margin. These designs were usually related to the
topic of the piece being engraved. The engravers did this to test
their tools and also to test the acid bath on a small segment prior to
submerging the entire plate. These small drawings are called
remarques. Remarque proofs are highly collectible. Example:
ENGRAVINGS
With an engraving, once again a plate is used, either copper or steel or even wood. The design is cut directly into the plate with a tool called a graver or burin. Antique engravings were done by a hand tool with a wooden ball at the end for pushing into the plate. There are different burin available, all with beveled points which may be in different shapes for different effects. After the design is drawn and cut into the plate, the plate is given an acid bath to clean the depressions, ink is used to fill the depressions; the plate is applied to paper with pressure, and a print is rendered.
With engravings, the plate used can be easily identified by an examination of the artwork. Copper was the preferred plate to use with etchings and engravings. When examined closely, the lines in the engraving will be farther apart than in steel engravings. Steel engravings have lines closely together. Wood engravings were rendered in a slightly different manner than the metal plate engravings. The design is cut into a hardwood. However, the ink is applied to the surface of the plate leaving the depressions empty, a procedure similar to wood block prints.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN AN ORIGINAL ETCHING OR ENGRAVING
1. Look for the plate impression, which should be readily discernible around the entire image.
2. Touch the surface of the print. On fine steel and copper engravings you can actually feel the ridges in the image area.
3. Examine the print under magnification. You can see the flow of ink in the design. No dot matrix pattern here.
4. In the margin below the print you should see some indication of engraver/etcher as well as the artist’s name.
The engraver/etcher is equally important as the artist. Most can be researched on the internet.
5. Examine the paper used in the printmaking process. It should be heavy, laid paper (Arches, Japon are similar weights).
6. Examine the subject matter of the print. You should only buy art that is visually appealing to you.