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Chapter 6
Printmaking
Instructor’s Manual
Overview
In this chapter, introduce Printmaking. Speak to the historical importance of the
development of the printing press. Give an overview of the many different types of
printmaking.
Sub Headers
• Relief Printmaking
o Woodcut
o Wood Engraving
• Intaglio Printmaking
o Metal Engraving
o Etching
o Aquatint
• Lithography
• Silkscreen
• Unique Prints
• Contemporary Approaches
Terms:
appropriate
aquatints
edition
engraving
etching
ground
intaglio
lithography
monotype
Reformation
registration
relief printmaking
silkscreen printing
wood engraving
woodcut
2
Lecture #1
Discussion:
In Lecture #1, discuss the importance of the printing press and the information revolution
it created. Use examples from the text. Speak to the artistic element of printmaking and
why it is an attractive medium for artists. Further discuss the many types of printmaking,
and highlight several with examples from the text and life.
Class Questions/Prompts:
1. Idea of Multiples Printmaking creates multiples of one image. So how can a print be
an original if there are more of the exact same print? Is the print really “one-of-a-kind?”
What is the difference between a photographic reproduction and a fine art print?
2. Invention of Paper Paper as a support material is so common today that it is easy to
take its availability for granted. But the practice of using easily available wood pulp as
the primary material for paper didn’t develop until the mid-nineteenth century. Discuss
the basic timeline of paper development.
• Egyptians used papyrus “paper” made by layering papyrus strips on a grid, then
pounding them for a tighter bond
• True paper is formed by beating the cellulose fibers in plants such as cotton rag, then
laying the beaten pulp onto mesh to form paper sheets, allowing the water to drain
and strengthening the bond of particles together.
• The first paper was made in China in the second century CE by T’sai Lun.
• The secrets of papermaking traveled west by trade routes through the Moors.
• “Paper” in Medieval Europe was really the tanned and stretched skin of sheep and
goats (parchment) or calves (vellum).
• Cotton rags used for paper making were such a valuable commodity in both Europe
and America in the 17–19th centuries that limits were put on the use of cotton. For
example, death shrouds in 17th-century Britain could only be made of wool rather
than the traditional cotton or linen fibers.
• Papermakers during the Civil War were exempt from service.
• One of the earliest mechanized paper-making processes was designed by Henry
Fourdrinier in 1806.
• Wood pulp eventually replaced the more expensive cotton, but wood pulp contains
materials that are not acid free, making papers become brittle and yellow with age.
• In the last few decades, there has been a resurrection of paper making using archival
cellulose fibers.
Discuss the availability of paper today compare with the difficulty of obtaining paper in
the past. What does it mean for contemporary society? What effect did it have in the
history of art?
3
Exercise #1
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods,
cultural and historical context.
Figure 6-7 William Hogarth, Gin Lane, from Beer Street and Gin Lane, c.
1734. Third state engraving.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 6-15 Bob Maclean, The Yardbirds, The Doors, 1967. Offset
lithography, private collection.
Figure 6-19 Kiki Smith, Peabody (Animal Drawings), 1996. Ink on paper,
installation view, Huntington Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art.
