• Stijnman, Ad. Engraving and Etching, 1400-2000. A History of the Development of Manual Intaglio Printmaking Processes, 2012.

Stijnman, Ad. Engraving and Etching, 1400-2000. A History of the Development of Manual Intaglio Printmaking Processes, Londres, Archetype Publications, Houten, Netherlands, in association with Hes and De Graaf Publishers, 2012.

Enlace http://www.archetype.co.uk/publication-details.php?id=166

This book, published by Archetype Publications in association with HES & DE GRAAF Publishers, surveys the history of the techniques of engraving, etching and plate printing - ie that of manual intaglio printmaking processes - from its beginning in the 1430s until today. These developments are observed in the light of the coherence between the technique of the intaglio print (such as its materials and methods of production); the ‘style’ or outward appearance of the print; the creator of the print; and the fashion typical of a particular social group, place and time. Economic, educational and social aspects are discussed, as well as the dissemination of the trade of intaglio printmaking.

The author shows how intaglio printmaking developed steadily from the mid-fifteenth century, with the invention of the roller press and the etching of printing plates. By 1525 intaglio printmaking techniques could be said to have reached maturity and spread east and west following the European trade routes and colonisation. Further developments in plate-making resulted from a series of inventions and reinventions. After the abolition of the guilds on the European continent around 1800, and the introduction of photography and the expansion of the graphic industry, the engraving of images became a mere mechanical procedure. The handcrafted print made way for the large-scale mechanised graphic industry which emerged in the middle of the nineteenth century. Consequently artist-etchers withdrew to an elite position to concentrate on the manual aspects of printmaking, which is the situation today.

This comprehensively illustrated study is the first of its kind to cover all elements of the trade of engraving and etching throughout six centuries. Based on an exhaustive number of primary sources it will be an essential resource for collectors, curators, conservators, printmakers and students of technical art history.

Reviews

The book is a one-stop shop for historians and collectors of prints. Stijnman's coverage of broader topics, like the professionalisation of the trade, the development of definitions of authenticity in printmaking, and the connections between fine art and book printing, is balanced by detailed studies of the developments of tools, grounds, acids, the roller press, inks, supports and colour printmaking.

Apollo (February 2013)

The author is uniquely qualified to write this book...As a result, his conclusions have an authority that immediately makes this a standard work, and it can confidently be recommended to any reader.

The Burlington Magazine (March 2013) 177

María del Mar Bernal, Ad Stijnman: un libro importante

Hoy quiero recomendar un libro de reciente publicación que debería estar en las bibliotecas de todos los centros en los que se practique, enseñe o investigue el grabado. Se trata del texto, originado en una tesis doctoral de la Universidad de Amsterdam, de Ad Stijnman: Engraving and Etching 1400-2000. A History of Development of Manual Intaglio Printmaking Processes. Londres, Archetype Publications, Houten Netherlands in association with with Hes and De Graaf Publishers, 2012.

Una de las principales cuestiones propuestas en este estudio es profundizar entre la coherencia que existe entre técnica y estilo. Para ello se analiza la historia y desarrollo de los procesos, la invención y evolución de las herramientas, su uso y sus resultados. Es también un pormenorizado relato sobre el desarrollo de la estampación, una descripción de los talleres, una catalogación de las prensas; en definitiva se trata del cómo del grabado y el por qué los artistas eligieron unos métodos y no otros … una joya literaria para los curiosos y un apoyo imprescindible a la investigación. La calidad de su contenidos es extraordinaria y el rigor científico digno de mención.

“La historia de la estampa es, básicamente, la historias de las técnicas del grabado. Concepto, composición y organización se han ido acordando de antemano para el actual modo de trabajar. Sin embargo será la selección de materiales, la elección de los métodos y el ductus del grabador, en combinación con las decisiones técnicas hechas durante el proceso, lo que defina la apariencia del producto final. Solo con cambiar uno de estos elementos la estampa lucirá diferente”. Ademas de la introducción y tres extensos capítulos, en sus apéndices muestra una completa cronología del grabado en hueco desde 1435 hasta 2002, un extenso listado de términos e inscripciones y una bibliografía completa de manuales, desde Bosse a Hayter, y artículos científicos relativos. Muy recomendable. Para ver su aspecto interior pincha aquí . Para ver otra bibliografía del autor aquí…

[Fuente imágenes: del texto citado, superior Interior of the printshop. W.B.M. Mc Queen 1832. Central, François Bonvin, Le graveur. Retrato de Auguste Delàtre. 1871, detalle. Inferior: A. Auer, impresión a partir de un ala de murciélago, nature printing, 1854.]