The surface of the print, especially an intaglio print, is delicate, and rubbing might permanently injure it. Prints should not be stacked without protective layers of tissue paper between them. Wood-pulp papers should not be used, as the acid content in these can burn the print. A print should not be exposed to intense sunlight; this is true particularly of colour prints, for very few colours are stable enough to withstand long exposure to direct sun. Light can also affect the paper. Because wood-pulp board contains chemicals that in time can burn or discolour the paper, a permanent mat should be constructed out of pure rag board. A properly constructed mat consists of two parts: the backing board to support the print and the covering frame to display it. The width of the mat frame should be related to the print’s dimensions so that the mat does not overpower the image. The window size of the mat should never obscure the printed image itself, or the signature and edition number.
Because temperature changes in a damp climate can cause condensation and the print can develop fungi, prints should be kept from direct contact with the glass. The simplest protection is a deep enough pure rag mat. If this is not sufficient, a filler should be inserted into the frame to increase the space between the mat and the glass.
The backboard of the frame should be also rag board, or at least faced with rag paper, although the latter is not the perfect solution. The back of the frame should be sealed with tape to prevent the penetrating of dust. In damp climates it is advisable to keep the frame away from the wall by placing corks on its four corners. This facilitates the free circulation of air. Air-conditioning and humidity controls are the best protection. History of printmaking
Engraving is one of the oldest art forms. Engraved designs have been found on prehistoric bones, stones, and cave walls. The technique of duplicating images goes back several thousand years to the Sumerians (c. 3000 bce), who engraved designs and cuneiform inscriptions on cylinder seals (usually made of stone), which, when rolled over soft clay tablets, left relief impressions. They conceived not only the idea of multiplication but also the mechanical principle, the roller, which in more sophisticated form became the printing press.
On the basis of stone designs and seals found in China, there is speculation that the Chinese may have produced a primitive form of print—the rubbing—about the 2nd century ce. The first authenticated prints rubbed from woodblocks were Buddhist charms printed in Japan and distributed between 764 and 770 ce. It is believed that the first wood-block prints on textiles were made by the Egyptians in the 6th or 7th century; but the earliest printed image with an authenticated date is a scroll of the Diamond Sutra (one of the discourses of the Buddha) printed by Wang Jie in 868 ce, which was found in a cave in eastern Turkistan.
In Europe, stamping (to imprint royal seals and signatures) preceded printing by rubbing or with a press. The earliest documented impressed royal signature is that of Henry VI of England, dated 1436.
Textile printing, however, was known in Europe in the 6th century, the designs consisting largely of repeated decorative patterns. Printing on paper developed from textile printing, following the introduction of paper from China. The first European paper was made in 1151, at Xativa (modern Játiva), Spain. Soon afterward paper manufacturing began in France and then in Germany and Italy, notably by Fabriano, whose enterprise was established in 1276.
The first woodcuts on paper, printed in quantity, were playing cards. The term Kartenmahler or Kartenmacher (“painter or maker of playing cards,” respectively) appears on a German document dated 1402; and documents from both Italy and France from the middle of the 15th century mention woodblocks for the printing of playing cards. The earliest dated woodcut is a “Madonna with Four Virgin Saints in a Garden” from the year 1418.
Many documents from the 15th century indicate that a clear distinction was made between the designer and the cutter of the woodblocks. From the outset, woodcut was primarily a facsimile process: the cutter copied a drawing provided by the designer.
Printing from a metal engraving, introduced a few decades after the woodcut, had an independent development. The art of engraving and etching originated with goldsmiths and armour makers—men who were thoroughly professional craftsmen, practicing an art that had a long, respected tradition. Since the armour makers and goldsmiths were designers themselves, the whole process was controlled by the creative artist. Printmaking in the 15th century Germany
Single prints (in contrast to those printed in a series or as part of an illustrated book) of the early 15th century were not signed or dated, and, because they were religious images carried by pilgrims from one place to another, it is nearly impossible to establish with certainty their place of origin. Their style alone must be relied upon for some indication of origin.
The first phase of woodcut, from about 1402 until about 1425, was dominated by boldly designed single figures against a blank background. Most of the cuts were made to be hand coloured. In the second half of the 15th century the cuts became more complex: architectural and landscape elements came into use, and often the image was framed in an elaborate border.
The first metal prints (criblé, or dotted, print) were made in the second half of the 15th century. The design was created by tiny dots punched into the metal and intermingled with short cuts. Surface printed, the whites are the positive part of the design, which is dominated by the dark background. Tiny holes in the borders indicate that most of these plates were intended as decorations to be mounted rather than as printing plates.
The earliest dated intaglio-printed engraving is from 1446: The Flagellation, of a Passion series. About this time, the first distinct personality to have great influence on German engraving appeared. He is known as the Master of the Playing Cards. His style was simple, nearly monumental; unlike the printwork of goldsmiths, his engravings lack ornamentation. For shading he used slightly diagonal parallel cuts. The Master of the Playing Cards heralds the beginning of a century of great printmakers in Germany. Another significant engraver, the Master of the Banderoles, was named after the ribbon scrolls characteristic of his prints, which are more decorative than those of the Master of the Playing Cards.
Playing Cards, Master of the: A Poet ReadingA Poet Reading, engraving on laid paper by the Master of the Playing Cards, 1430s.National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Gift of Ladislaus and Beatrix von Hoffmann, 1999.26.1
In the second half of the 15th century, the outstanding printmaker was Master E.S., who flourished about 1440–67 and was one of the first to use initials as a signature on his plates. Little is known about him, but the personality that emerges from approximately 317 plates is forceful and distinct. Although it is evident from his prints that, like most early engravers, he was first trained as a goldsmith, his work has strong pictorial quality.
Martin Schongauer was the first great engraver who is known to have been a painter rather than a goldsmith. Although Schongauer’s style was still Gothic in character, he composed with much greater freedom than his contemporaries, thus representing a transition into the Renaissance. He made about 115 plates, mostly of religious subjects, and was a powerful influence on the young Albrecht Dürer (see below Printmaking in the 16th century). During the second half of the 15th century, a group of brilliant engravers known only by their initials emerged in Germany. They are the Masters B.G., B.M., L.G.S., A.G., B.R., and W.H. The controversial figure of Israhel van Meckenem appeared at the end of the 15th century. A superb and extremely prolific engraver, he was a rather eclectic artist, borrowing from other masters and often copying them. Italy