Tag Archives: printmaking

Rembrandt van Rijn, two impressions of Jacob’s Ladder, 1655, etching and drypoint, 4⅝” x 3⅛”, Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rembrandt van Rijn, two impressions of Jacob’s Ladder, 1655, etching and drypoint, 4⅝” x 3⅛”, Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

What is a Burr?

In printmaking, a burr is made of the metal that remains on a printing plate after it has been displaced in the process of carving an image. This often happens when using drypoint as a printmaking technique. When creating a … Continue reading

Rembrandt van Rijn, Abraham Entertaining the Angels, 1656, etching and drypoint, 6 ½” x 5 ½”, Image via Wikiart, artwork in the Public Domain. Rembrandt van Rijn, Abraham Entertaining the Angels, 1656, etching and drypoint, 6 ½” x 5 ½”, Image via Wikiart, artwork in the Public Domain.

Connecting Through Abraham

Abraham is an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each of the three monotheistic religions, meaning that followers believe there is just one God, either emphasizes Abraham or traces their origins to the tribal patriarch. Jews believe that … Continue reading

Alphonse Mucha, Advertising Poster for Job Cigarettes, Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha, Advertising Poster for Job Cigarettes, 1896, color lithograph, 26.25

Happy Birthday Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha, the Art Nouveau painter from the Czech Republic, was born on July 24th, 1860. While he was attending school in Paris in the late 19th century, he became a highly successful commercial artist, designing posters, advertisements, and book illustrations. His … Continue reading

Marcantonio Raimondi, Leonardo da Vinci Marcantonio Raimondi, Orpheus Charming the Animals (Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci?), 1505, engraving, 21.4 x 17.3 cm, Cleveland Museum of Art, Photo via artnet news.

Leonardo da Vinci: The Hair and The Nose

Live Science reported yesterday that Ross Duffin, a music professor at Case Western University, claims that the figure playing the lira da braccio (a stringed instrument) in a print created by Marcantonio Raimondi is not the Greek hero Orpheus but … Continue reading

Winslow Homer, The Fog Warning, 1885, oil on canvas, 30.2

Happy Birthday Winslow Homer

Winslow Homer, the American painter and printmaker, was born on February 24th, 1836 in Boston, Massachusetts to Charles Savage Homer and Henrietta Benson Homer.  Homer began his career as a commercial illustrator in Boston, after which Harper’s Weekly sent him to … Continue reading

Albrecht Dürer, The Adoration of the Shepherds, from The Life of the Virgin, circa 1503, woodcut, 11 3/4 x 8 5/16 in., National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Albrecht Dürer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Seeing Double Dürers

Albrect Dürer created this lovely woodcut of the shepherds adoring the baby Jesus on the night he was born as part of a series that illustrates the Life of the Virgin.  The print demonstrates Dürer’s German sensibilities with the expressive … Continue reading

Jacob Lawrence, Confrontation at the Bridge from the series entitled, Not Songs of Loyalty Alone: The Struggle for Personal Freedom, 1975, Silkscreen, 19.5” x 25.85”, Photo by Zeal Harris via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

Jacob Lawrence Used the Appropriate Language

“When the subject is strong, simplicity is the only way to treat it.”  – Jacob Lawrence Jacob Lawrence was an American painter best known for his portrayal of essential moments in African American history.  Influenced by Cubism, Lawrence used bright colors … Continue reading

Andō Hiroshige, Snow at Kambara from the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Highway series, c. 1833, woodblock print, 9.9” x 14.8”, Brooklyn Museum, New York, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Travel Posters, Japanese Style

Inspired by Hokusai’s success with his views of Mount Fuji, Japanese artist Andō Hiroshige created prints of the various locales in Japan capturing the mood and character of each setting.  In his Snow at Kambara from his Fifty-Three Stations of … Continue reading

Engraving of De templo Hierosolymitano from Jacob Judah Leon’s book on the subject, published by Johannes Saubertus (Latin Edition), Helmstadt, 1665, engraving, 6.1” x 4.3”, this artwork is in the public domain.

Rebuilding Solomon’s Temple

The Temple of Solomon has great significance in Jewish history since it was the first Jewish temple constructed in Jerusalem. Built by Salomon, King of the Israelites, in the 10th century BCE on the Temple Mount, it housed the Ark … Continue reading

William Hogarth, Tête à Tête from Marriage à la Mode, 1743, oil on canvas, 27.6” x 35.8”, National Gallery of Art, London, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Make the Time: William Hogarth at the Blanton Museum of Art

William Hogarth was a rebel.  He rebelled against the art academy and he had something to say about London society in the mid-eighteenth century.  He didn’t like the nouveau-riche middle class, nor did he care for the gentry.  His mode … Continue reading

Rembrandt van Rijn, Adam and Eve, 1638, etching, 6.4" x 4.6", Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Just a Second: Etching

Etching (noun) A technique of printmaking in which an artist scratches a waxy resin from the surface of a metal plate and the plate is then dipped in acids to “carve” the exposed metal to create the image on the … Continue reading