Giovanni Battista Piranesi was one of the great art print series creators of the 18th century, and perhaps throughout all of history. Considering himself an architect and archaeologist before being an artist, his work is exceptionally technically crafted, but undoubtedly shows an artistic flair far beyond technical drawing. Born to a stonemason, and completing an […]
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With the invention of lithography and later photography, there were still plenty of improvements that could be made in the process for creating art prints, but artists largely had all they needed; photo quality reproduction of their art, freeing painters to paint rather than learn engraving techniques. Many artists still continued to work in specific […]
Read in fullThe 19th Century brought a range of innovations and new techniques to the annals of art print history. Where once everything had been about scratching or marking surfaces of materials like metal and wood, it now shifted. Intaglio techniques were wonderful for linework but very limited in terms of shading or colouring, and restrictive to […]
Read in fullLittle appreciated in his time, William Blake was an English painter, poet, and printmaker today considered one of England’s greatest artists, and who created a unique visual perspective on the world through explorations of philosophy and mysticism. His career began in the world of art prints as an apprentice engraver, creating images of Gothic churches […]
Read in fullRembrandt today is most widely thought of as a great painter, but during his own life he was most well known for his etchings, a new technology at the time, but one which he embraced and became a master of. An air of mystery surrounds his work and the precise techniques he used, homed over […]
Read in fullThe French artist Gustave Dore was known for his painting, illustration, sculpting, and great art prints, pouring out a large volume of beautifully designed and crafted wood engravings, which are widely considered the best examples of the medium. Producing over 10,000 artworks to illustrate classic literature from the Bible to Edgar Allen Poe, Dore’s design […]
Read in fullKatsushika Hokusai lived during the Edo period in Japan, becoming known as a great creator of paintings and art prints, who developed the ukiyo-e art style beyond portraits of public figures, into broader studies of animals, plants, and natural landscapes. His career began in an apprenticeship with a wood carver, which switched to study under […]
Read in fullWith the invention of lithography and later photography, there were still plenty of improvements that could be made in to the printing process, but artists and art print masters largely had all they needed. Photo quality reproduction of their pieces was fully realised, freeing painters to paint rather than learn engraving techniques. Many artists still […]
Read in fullWilliam Hogarth was a British painter, maker of art print series, and satirist who created everything from fine art portraiture through to political cartoons, which had such a distinctive style and approach it coined the term Hogarthian. Born in 1697 he studied an apprenticeship as an engraver, and began his interest in cartoons sitting and […]
Read in fullSo much of art history and the art world tends to revolve around western art and Europe. The great waves of the Renaissance or modern art, are almost entirely discussed in Western terms, but non-Western art has been a crucial part of our world’s artistic evolution, and prints are a classic example. During the 17th […]
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