Chapter 7: Printmaking

Chapter 7: Printmaking

Multiple Choice Questions

1.  Woodcut
A. relief* B. intaglio C. planographic

2.  Engraving
A. relief B. intaglio* C. planographic

3.  Wood engraving
A. relief* B. intaglio C. planographic

4.  Lithography
A. relief B. intaglio C. planographic*

5.  Mezzotint
A. relief B. intaglio* C. planographic

6.  Drypoint
A. relief B. intaglio* C. planographic

7.  The oldest form of printmaking
A. woodcut* B. engraving C. etching

8.  Uses acid to make the lines
A. woodcut B. engraving C. etching*

9.  The image is raised from the surface of the matrix
A. woodcut* B. engraving C. etching

10. The burin is the favored tool for working
A. woodcut B. engraving* C. etching

11. The printmaking process begins with a design or image made in or on a surface by hitting or pressing with a ______.
A. special ink B. roller C. tool*

12. Printmaking processes are divided into four major categories: relief, intaglio, lithography, and ______.
A. engraving B. serigraphy* C. drypoint

13. Prints are generally less ______than unique works by the same artist.
A. expensive* B. interesting C. difficult

14. The working surface, or ______, of prints varies according to the printmaking technique.
A. matrix* B. flat C. place

15. The images in printmaking are usually rendered in ______.
A. paint B. gesso C. ink*

16. Normally, the matrix is pressed against a sheet of paper, and the image is ______.
A. ready for final production B. transferred* C. blurred

17. After the invention of the ______, woodcut assumed an important role in book illustration.
A. printing press* B. quill C. copper plate

18. Intaglio prints are derived from designs or images that lie ______the surface of the matrix.
A. above B. on C. below*

19. Engraving, drypoint, and etching are essentially ______media.
A. tonal B. linear* C. painting

20. The subtle tonal gradations achieved by the mezzotint process can be duplicated with a much easier and quicker etching technique called ______.
A. wood engraving B. engraving C. aquatint*

Completion/Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

21. The working surface of any printmaking process is called the ______.
{{matrix}}

22. The value of drawings and paintings (in contrast to prints) lies, in part, in their ______.
{{uniqueness}}

23. Nolde created The Prophet using a broadly grained, splintering block of ______.
{{wood}}

24. The razor-sharp tips of engraving implements and the ______of the end-grain blocks make possible the exacting precision found in Landacre's Growing Corn.
{{hardness}}

25. In contrast to the softer matrix used for the woodcut, the matrix for the wood engraving makes it relatively easy to work lines in varying ______
{{directions}}

26. The earliest engravings printed on paper did not appear until the ______century.
{{fifteenth}}

27. Because engraved lines are transferred to paper under very high pressure, they not only reveal the ink from the grooves, but themselves have a ridge-like texture that can be ______by running a finger across the print.
{{felt}}

28. The drypoint burr retains particles of ______, creating a softened rather than crisp line when printed. .
{{ink}}

29. In etching, the metal plate is covered with a liquid, ______-resisting ground.
{{acid}}

30. Matisse said, "What I am after, above all, is ______.
{{expression}}

31. With mezzotint engraving, the entire metal plate is worked over with a curved, multi-toothed implement called a ______.
{{hatcher}}

32. From the evenly-pitted surface of the mezzotint plate the artist creates an image by gradually scraping and burnishing the areas of the plate that are meant to be ______.
{{lighter}}

33. Soft-______etching employs a ground of softened wax and can be used to render the effects of crayon or pencil drawings.
{{ground}}

34. Lithography is a surface or ______printing process.
{{planographic}}

35. Another word for silkscreen printing is ______.
{{serigraphy}}

36. Unlike most other graphic processes, serigraphy permits the rendering of images in ______as well as in ink.
{{paint}}

37. In serigraphy, ______are used to create the design or image.
{{stencils}}

38. Recently a serigraphic process called ______silk-screen has been developed that allows the artist to create photographic images on a screen covered with a light-sensitive gel.
{{photo}}

39. The monotype differs from other printmaking techniques in that it yields but a ______print.
{{single}}

40. Arthur M. Hind said, "In comparison with painting and sculpture, ______is a cosmopolitan art…."
{{engraving}}

Discussion Questions

41. Describe the distinguishing relationship between matrix and paper in each of three kinds of printmaking: relief, intaglio, and planographic.

42. How does serigraphy differ technically from the other forms of printmaking?

43. How does the emotional impact differ between Hiroshige's Rain Shower on Ohashi and Nolde's The Prophet? Consider the use of line, shape, and color.

44. Describe the different depths and groupings of lines used by Pollaiuolo in Battle of Ten Naked Men to achieve his masterful representation.

45. Describe how Toulouse-Lautrec used at least three different methods to create his lithographic Seated Clowness.

46. Many engravers erase or cancel the matrix after they have printed the number of prints they wish to print (an engraver might simply scratch a large "X" across the plate). Why do you suppose artists do this to their matrix?

47. We have talked a lot about the aesthetic dimension of printmaking. But what about the practical aspect of being able to make many identical copies of a picture? What impact might this ability have had on history?

48. Look at and think about Pollaiuolo's Battle of Ten Naked Men. Given the effect he achieved in this engraving, why would he probably not have wanted to work in lithography, even if the technique had been available in his time?

49. Explain why Matisse used etching rather than engraving in his Loulou in a Flowered Hat.

50. Explain what is meant by "mixed-media printmaking." Give examples of works of art in your answer.