| I am sure that if you have visited a gallery, art fair or even looked at art online you have run across terms for art prints that may be unfamiliar or confusing. |
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| First of all what is a print? A print is basically an impression created from a stone, block, plate, screen or negative. OK, so you're still confused. Well, I'll briefly describe a few common types of print-making processes. |
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| Lithography: (Not to be confused with offset lithography.) A process where an image is drawn onto a stone (or sometimes a metal plate) with waxy or oily substances and then covered with water. Then the ink is applied and it sticks to the waxy substance but is resisted by the water allowing the transfer of the image. Lithography was favored by artist Marc Chagall. |
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| Serigraphy: Also known as silk screening, serigraphy is a process where a stencil is created from tightly stretched silk screen that has an image on it created from an impermeable substance. Then ink is pushed through the screen onto a surface. Each color requires a separate screen and a separate process, so serigraphs usually come in smaller editions. Andy Warhol's famous portrait of Marilyn Monroe is a serigraph. |
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| Etching: Created by covering a metal plate with an acid resistant material and then an image is created by scratching or etching onto the surface to create a recessed image. The plate is then put into an acid bath and the exposed metal is dissolved to create a recessed image. The surface is then inked and transferred to paper. This type of print typically leaves a plate mark (depressed margin around the image). Pierre-Auguste Renoir was one of the first impressionists to have success with this process. |
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| Wood block print: Created by carving out the image from a block of wood. The surface is inked and the recessed areas remain white and the rest of the block is transferred, basically creating a stamp. This same process is used to create linoleum prints as well. The art of the wood block has been mastered by Japanese artists for hundreds of years, Hiroshige is a well-known master of this print-making process. |
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| Other examples of print that are readily available on the market are mezzotints, monotypes, photogravures, giclees, aquatints, along with many others. |
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| Now that you have a little more background on the processes, in my next article (May 18) I will discuss the different types of prints and valuation. |
