The first images cut into metal date back to Antiquity, when goldsmiths engraved motifs on metal as a form of decoration. Later, in the 15th century, they started to ink their designs and print them on paper, possibly to check or keep a record of their designs, giving rise to the idea of printing images from incised metal plates or intaglio printmaking.

Intaglio processes, like engraving, etching or aquatint, require a special press with rollers to run the incised metal plates under high pressure to properly transfer the inked lines of the metal surface onto the paper, enabling the printing of the image multiple times.

ENGRAVING

Engraving became a popular technique in Germany, as it allowed artists to create highly detailed motifs and gradations, despite the great craftmanship and planning they required.

Here is a great example of engraving included in this exhibition, Albrecht Durer’s The Knight, Death, and The Devil (1513). The audiovisual in this section illustrates the processes involved in this technique.

ALBERTO DURERO. THE KNIGHT, DEATH, AND THE DEVIL

Albrecht Dürer (b. 1471; d. 1528) is considered one of the most skilled engravers of all time due to his extraordinary technical achievements in the gradations of tone, and the way he represented different textures in his engravings. His prints had a huge impact on younger generations of artists up to the 20th century.

The print The Knight, Death, and The Devil, 1513 (gallery 205) belongs to his “Master Prints”, a group of three large engravings where he deploys his technical mastery and imagination.

Here Durer used an intricate cross-hatching to depict each of the different figures and details in the composition. Look closely at Dürer’s extraordinary rendering of the anatomy of the horse, which evokes the equestrian statues from the Renaissance.

ETCHING

Etching also emerged in Germany; it was a popular technique amongst painters as it allowed them to produce very expressive lines akin to hand drawing. However, in contrast with engraving, etching requires more equipment to execute it.

KÄTHE KOLLWITZ. SELF-PORTRAIT

Käthe Kollwitz (b. 1867; d. 1945) is one of the most important printers of the 20th century. Initially trained as a painter, she devoted herself completely to etching in 1890, to shift later to lithography, and after 1911 also woodcut. Her subjects focused on death, loss, injustice of the working class in Berlin, and especially on mothers and children.

Kollwitz’s artistic process involved printing several proofs and direct adjustments in the composition, later implemented on the plates, switching to different printing mediums when needed to convey her ideas.

Throughout her life Kollwitz created over one hundred self-portraits in different techniques; one of them is Self-Portrait, 1910, on view in gallery 207. Look closely at how Kollwitz managed to express her hopelessness through gestural lines that create a stark contrast of the light and dark areas surrounding her gaze.

Käthe Kollwitz’s etching Self-Portrait and the audiovisual included in this section illustrate the complete processes involved in this printmaking technique.

 

Image from the documentary film Images in stone, Wood and copper. #3 Printmaking: Etching by the Collection of Prints and Drawings of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest (2024)