THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 11, 1994 TAG: 9409090122
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: ART REVIEW
SOURCE: BY VIRGINIA VAN HORN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
`MASTERPIECES OF Renaissance and Baroque Printmaking'' at The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk is one exhibition that lives up to its name. An outstanding group of 169 prints from the Gertrude Weber collection in Charlottesville and the collection of the Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, it traces the development of European printmaking from its origins in the 15th century through its technical flourishing in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The history of printmaking in Europe begins in the 15th century with the invention of the woodcut. It is a relief process in which a design is carved with knives and gouges into a wooden block, and the surface is then covered with ink.
Because the carved area of the block becomes the white area of the print - and therefore, the carver cuts out the area around the line, not the line itself - woodcut is typically handled in a broader, bolder manner than other print media.
Probably the most famous print in the exhibition is Albrecht Durer's 1515 woodcut ``Rhinoceros.'' His rhino is a very appealing, kindly beast whose massive, armored body pushes against the edges of the frame. Part of the print's charm lies in Durer's utilization of a variety of circular graphic marks to describe the animal, in a style that is more decorative than naturalistic.
Woodcuts like this one by Durer were an effective means of transmitting information to an often illiterate general public. They were, in a sense, the tabloids of the 16th century, emphasizing quick distribution of exotic and/or sensational information.
Although Durer never actually saw a rhinoceros (he worked from a written description), his depiction of the animal was very popular throughout Europe and influenced the public perception of the creature for centuries.
The small size of Albrecht Altdorfer's series ``The Fall and Redemption of Man'' only emphasizes the monumental quality that can be achieved in woodcut. Forty prints, each one measuring 2-inches-by-3-inches, illustrate the story of salvation in scenes from the life of the Virgin and the Passion of Christ; they were originally intended to be published as a small devotional book without text. Altdorfer, famous for epic but meticulously detailed paintings like ``Susanna at the Bath,'' adapts his love of drama and delight in the miniature to this new medium.
Engraving soon followed the establishment of woodcut. The process developed from goldsmithing techniques.
In engraving, the artist or craftsman cuts lines into a metal plate using a sharp tool called a burin. These lines are then filled with ink and the plate surface wiped clean. The ink is transferred to paper through extreme pressure as it moves through the printing press.
Engraved lines are typically clean and hard-edged, with a characteristic swelling and tapering shape. Where woodcut tends to be bold, with dramatic contrasts and little modeling, engraving encourages an extensive and subtle handling of value from the palest grays to rich blacks. Since even the tiniest scratch will print, all sorts of graphic marks are possible and the chance for modeling is greatly increased.
Martin Schongauer, one of the first great German masters, is credited with the invention of a sophisticated system of hatching. His method improved on the simple, straight, parallel lines previously used. In his ``Entombment,'' a variety of marks - long curves, hooks, dots and dashes - create texture and tone.
Curved lines follow the forms of the figures, resulting in a greater sense of three-dimensionality. Schongauer's work greatly affected Durer, whose development of luminous tone and form was in turn a major influence on Northern European and Italian printmakers.
Starting with Durer, virtuoso follows virtuoso through the 16th century. The skill level is amazing. Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius' ``The Great Standard Bearer'' is an extravagant display of visual splendor and technical ability.
The craftsmanship during that era was superb, both among those few artists who made their own prints and among the artisans who carved the woodblocks or engraved the metal plates after an artist's design.
But a new technique - etching - was gaining in popularity. It was a technique that helped to bring about a change in style and taste.
Etching, like engraving, is an intaglio process. Its roots are not in goldsmithing, but in the armorer's trade. Compared to the extensive training need to carve wood or engrave metal, etching is relatively easy to learn.
The process begins with coating a metal plate with a protective, acid-resistant substance. An artist then draws with a sharp pointed instrument through this coating, exposing metal. When the plate is submerged in an acid solution, the acid eats away exposed plate areas. Thus, lines are cut into the plate, which is then printed in the same way as for an engraving.
The resulting prints appear far more gestural and spontaneous, since the process allows for an easier flow of line.
Etchings can suggest the immediacy of a sketch, as in ``Samson and Delilah'' by Venetian painter Jacopo Palma Il Giovane. This sketchy quality was valued by connoisseurs in the late 16th and 17th centuries as a new indication of artistic virtuosity - and as an intimate communication of the artist's hand.
Perfectly controlled craftsmanship became less important (at least to an elite group) than freedom of line, expression and the sense of personal touch. ILLUSTRATION: Hendrik Goltzius illustrates majesty through engraving in ``The
Great Standard Bearer.''
by CNB