What was the world’s first print?

The earliest form of printmaking at home and abroad is woodcut reproduction printmaking, such as the "Dialogue Picture" on the title page of the "Diamond Sutra" carved in the ninth year of Xiantong (868) in the Tang Dynasty in my country, which was carved by craftsmen based on the artist's drawings. print. Only in the 18th century did artists begin to create prints in which they drew their own drawings, made their own plates, and printed their own prints. Printmaking as a plastic art refers to the creation of prints. Due to differences in the ink-receiving part of the plate, plate properties, plate making and printing methods, etc., it can be divided into different varieties. Monotype printmaking is a form of printmaking that involves painting or coloring on a smooth surface without plate making, and then rubbing it into the finished product. Rubbing is a form of printmaking in which ink is directly rubbed onto the paper covering the letterpress layout. Such as stone rubbings, brick rubbings, etc. Letterpress type prints receive ink on the convex surface of the plate, and are represented by woodblock prints. Among them, those printed with oil-soluble ink are called "mimeograph woodblock prints" or "woodcuts"; those printed with water-soluble inks are called "watermark prints" or "watermark woodcuts." There are also various relief prints made using hemp glue, plaster, stones, bricks, etc. as plate materials and still using woodblock printing and printing methods. Intaglio prints receive ink on the concave part of the plate, which represents copper prints. Among them, due to different platemaking methods, they can be divided into "line etching copper engravings", "dry engraving copper engravings", "screen wire copper engravings" and "corroded copper engravings". There are also various intaglio prints made from zinc plates or other metal plates but still using copper plate making and printing methods. Lithographic prints receive ink on the surface of the plate, and are represented by lithographs. Due to different platemaking methods, it can be divided into "direct lithography" and "transfer lithography". There are also lithographic prints that use aluminum plates, zinc plates, etc. as plate materials but still use lithograph plate making and printing methods. Hole type printmaking is also called "leaky hole printing". The ink leaks through the perforated plate to the finished product bearing surface, which is represented by screen leakage. There are also hole-type prints that use the silk screen printing method and use nylon mesh, Capron mesh, metal mesh and other mesh materials as the plate material. Glass printmaking is a form of printmaking in which a plate is made on glass and then combined with photography technology.

Print Art

Print is also an important category of Chinese art. Ancient printmaking mainly refers to woodcuts, with a few copperplate engravings and color printing. The unique taste of knife and wood gives it independent artistic value and status in the history of Chinese culture and art.

The origin of Chinese printmaking can be divided into the Han Dynasty, the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Six Dynasties and even the Sui Dynasty. The earliest extant prints in my country, some of which are engraved with the date, are the frontispiece of the world-famous "Xantong" version of the "Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra". According to the inscription, it was made in 868 AD. The "Zhide" prints unearthed from Tang tombs in Chengdu, Sichuan are estimated to be about a hundred years older than the "Xiantong" prints. Prints from the Tang and Five Dynasties periods can be found in northwest my country, Wuyue and other places. Most of the works are simple and handsome, and the swordsmanship is spirited. The content themes are mainly religious scriptures.

The Buddhist prints of the Song and Yuan Dynasties further developed on the basis of the Tang and Five Dynasties. The engraving method is perfect and the body and rhyme are powerful. At the same time, images of landscapes and landscapes also began to appear in the scriptures. There are also a large number of engraving works on other themes, such as books and albums on scientific and technological knowledge and literature and art. Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty, Lin'an, Shaoxing, Huzhou, Wuzhou, Suzhou, Jian'an in Fujian, Meishan in Sichuan, Chengdu in the Southern Song Dynasty, etc., became printmaking centers with their own characteristics. The Liao Dynasty overprinted color version of "Namo Sakyamuni Buddha Statue" from the same period is the earliest color overprint print discovered in my country and plays an extremely important role in the history of world culture. Due to practical requirements, copperplate printing also appeared in the Song Dynasty, mainly used for printing banknotes and advertisements. The "Pinghua" engravings of the Yuan Dynasty were the predecessors of my country's comic book prints.

The Ming and Qing Dynasties were the peak period of printmaking in my country. With the joint efforts of many literati, booksellers, and engravers, various schools of printmaking emerged and a large number of excellent works were created. Presenting a prosperous situation. Not only did religious printmaking reach its peak in the Ming Dynasty, but appreciation of printmaking also flourished in the Ming Dynasty. Paintings, novels, operas, biographies, poems, etc., there are countless masterpieces at one time like snow. Especially the engravings and illustrations of literary masterpieces have many editions, are widely popular and have far-reaching influence.

This period was also the flourishing period for various art schools of printmaking. The works of the Jian'an School, centered in Jianyang, Fujian, are mostly produced by folk craftsmen and are carved in a simple way. The works of the Jinling School, centered in Nanjing, are mainly opera novels. Some are rough and bold, or some are elegant and beautiful, with completely different styles. The Wuling School, centered in Hangzhou, has broad themes and exquisite carvings. The Hui style, centered in Huizhou, Anhui Province, has a long-standing influence and plays a decisive role in the history of Chinese culture.

When appreciating the large number of works left over from the development of printmaking in the past thousand years, there are some artistic features worth noting:

1. Use the true nature of the object as much as possible to show the wood flavor.

2 Make clever use of the "black-out" technique to perform special processing on the depicted body to obtain the unique artistic effect of printmaking.

3 Take advantage of the characteristics of engraving watermarks to produce a strong artistic effect on large blocks of engraving.

4 Through clever composition, different styles such as full and dense, desolate and simple are used to set off the theme.

To sum up, ancient Chinese printmaking has its own development trajectory in the long history, forming a unique artistic style.

Mr. Zheng Zhenduo once said: "Pear and jujube paintings have made an indescribable contribution to promoting culture." This is an appropriate assessment of the status of printmaking as an art.

Prints

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Use knives or chemicals to cut wood, stone, hemp, copper, etc.

Zinc plates, etc. A picture printed on a page after engraving or etching. In the West, the word printmaking has two meanings: broad and narrow. The broad sense refers to all paintings other than large-scale paintings such as oil paintings and murals, such as watercolors, gouache, and pastels.

Writings, sketches, sketches, illustrations, posters, comic strips, etc.; in a narrow sense

refers to pictures that have been engraved and printed. The term "printmaking" commonly used in China is mostly in a narrow sense.

Evolution Printmaking has gone through two stages of development: copying and creating.

Early printmaking was made for printing and publishing. Painters, engravers, and printers

worked separately. The engraver only made copies of the artist's drawings, which was called copying printmaking. . Later

Printmaking won an independent status in art. Painters, engravers, and printers were all

taken by the printmaker alone, and the printmaker was able to give full play to his artistic creativity< /p>

Creative, this kind of printmaking is called creative printmaking.

The copying of woodblock prints in China has a history of more than 1,000 years, and it may have first occurred during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The woodcut frontispiece of the "Jin

Gang Jing" written in the ninth year of Xiantong in the late Tang Dynasty (868) shows that in the middle of the 9th century, China's woodcut reproduction

printmaking had reached a level of proficiency. level.

Printmaking, as an independent artistic creation, has long existed in the West.

In Europe, A. Dürer in the 16th century copied pen and ink drawings with copper engravings and woodcut engravings. By Rembrandt in the 17th century, copper engraving had developed from engraving to etching and entered the stage of creative printmaking. Woodblock prints were created by Biwick in the 19th century using a white line-based intaglio method. He got rid of the fetters of copying and entered the field of printmaking. China's creative printmaking has achieved tremendous development in just over 50 years since it was promoted by Lu Xun in the 1930s.

Types and techniques In terms of type, there are four types of printmaking: letterpress, intaglio,

lithography and perforated printmaking. In terms of materials, relief prints include wood carvings, linen carvings, stone carvings, brick carvings, paper carvings, plaster carvings, etc. In gravure prints, there are

metal (mainly copper and zinc) prints, celluloid prints, paper prints, etc.

Lithographic prints include lithographs, monolithic prints, etc. Among the perforated prints, there are

silk screen prints, paper perforated prints, etc. Due to the different materials used, the engraving tools

and methods are also different, resulting in the characteristics of various types of prints; moreover, due to the various

printmakers exerting their creativity and engraving, The techniques of printing (mainly handprinting) and the forms of printmaking art are even more colorful.

Relief printing: (Germany) Dürer's "Four Horsemen"

Relief printing is done on the plane of the plate, and the blank part of the drawing is carved with a knife,

leaving The part with the image underneath; the part left (that is, not engraved) on the layout is raised,

so it is called letterpress. Letterpress prints are mainly woodcuts and are carved with other materials. They are also called letterpress prints. There are many materials that can be used for letterpress engraving, including wood, stone, brick,

hemp glue (or plastic), etc. The wood used for wood carving varies from place to place. Generally, it is suitable to have moderate hardness and softness and fine texture. Ancient and modern Chinese woodblock prints all carve longitudinal sections of wood, which are called woodcuts. Some woodcuts in the West require fine carvings, so cross-sections of hard wood are used, which are called woodcut woodcuts. Hemp glue

It was originally a building material used for laying floors. Chinese printmakers rarely use hemp glue

for printmaking.

Creating prints: (China) Tan Quan Shu's "Meng Gen Qiqi Ge"

The engraving knives used when engraving relief prints include various large sets of triangular knives and circles

Blade knives, flat knives and oblique knives, etc. Large round-blade knives and flat-blade knives are called chisels.

A chisel is a tool used to strike with force behind the handle. As for wood engraving,

a special solid steel bar is used to create various shapes of blades. Carving

Wood carving often requires the use of a magnifying glass.

Creating woodcuts uses a knife instead of writing, unlike copying woodcuts where the strokes are carved

Drawings, so you need to pay attention to knife skills, just like calligraphy and painting pay attention to brushwork. Engraving

Contrary to painting, it is to carve white lines (or blocks) on the black ground. Printmakers should

master this feature to produce woodcut features that are different from strokes. Moreover, carving on hard wood with a sharp knife will naturally produce the smell of gold and stone, which is called the smell of knife and wood in wood carving.

Only when woodcutters are good at using and developing the characteristics of woodcuts can they be called to create woodcut prints. As for printmaking, it must be printed before it can be considered complete. Handprint printmaking has a variety of printing techniques and has become an integral part of the printmaker's artistic creation. Generally speaking, woodcut printing can be divided into mimeograph and watermark. The former uses oil-based ink, while the latter uses water-based pigments; printing water colors is more difficult than printing oil colors. The same goes for color woodcuts.

The traditional Chinese watermark color registration method has a history of more than 300 years. At the end of the Ming Dynasty

Hu Zhengyan invented the □plate, which was the beginning of the traditional watermark color registration method. Modern creation

The watermark color registration method of woodcut is different from the traditional one. Instead of using □ plates, various

color plates are engraved on several plates of the same size, and each plate has its own color. Engraving a same

registration mark, and then overprinting the mark plate by plate. This approach allows the printmaker to

have the overall picture (the whole picture) in mind, arrange the color plates and create the final effect of overprinting. Therefore, the printmaker needs to consider all the conditions for overprinting when designing the overprint, and cannot only see each plate individually. When printing,

choose better absorbent handmade paper. Wet the paper with water first. This should be mastered by the printmaker based on his or her own experience. Too much moisture and too much dryness are not good.

The degree to which the paper is wet often directly affects the printing effect. The color can be

transparent or opaque, and the transparency

can be increased or decreased depending on the thickness of the color. As for one color, it can be printed in varying shades on one plate, and two colors can be overprinted to produce a third color. The variations are very rich.

Watermark woodcut: (China) Luo Jianzhao's "Wind and Cloud on the Mountain"

Using other materials to make plates to engrave letterpress prints, the basic method is the same as that of woodcut

, but when carving stones and bricks, chisels are often used as auxiliary tools, and watermarking cannot be used on other materials except wooden boards.

Gravure printing Intaglio printing is the opposite of relief printing. Intaglio printing is to carve concave lines on the plane of the plate. When ink is rolled on, an image of black ground and white lines can be printed. Polished metal

The layout does not absorb ink. The ink of a copperplate print can be lightly rubbed with a cloth, but if there are scratches on the surface, the ink will remain there. The plate materials of modern intaglio prints are mainly copper and zinc, and sometimes iron or steel. The engraving methods are:

① Line Engraving, one of the oldest intaglio engraving methods, uses a solid sharp knife to carve lines on the copper plate. The carved lines are bright and sharp. The layout can be engraved

very delicately. In the past, banknotes were engraving and printed using this method, and a small number of current stamps are still engraving using this method.

Intaglio prints: (Germany) Kollwitz's "Mother's Love"

②Dry engraving method, using a needle to directly engrave the copper plate, the carved lines and the line engraving method

Different. The tip of the needle only cuts through the plate, leaving copper thorns next to the lines. Therefore, when inking the surface of the plate

, the copper scraps also contain ink, and after printing, the line edges appear to be hairy

< p>Light ink, the visual effect is soft and beautiful.

③Corrosion method: Copper, zinc, steel and other materials that can be corroded by acids

are covered with preservatives. The main ingredients of the preservatives are asphalt, rosin and

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Beeswax. Then use a needle to carve an image on it. Wherever the needle touches, the preservative is scraped off

to expose the layout. Finally, it is immersed in a nitric acid solution, and the exposed part

is corrosion. Due to the different corrosion time and the concentration of the nitric acid solution, the etched lines vary in depth and thickness. Etched prints are generally etched in multiple layers, so the tones are very rich and the layers are very clear. It is the most commonly used platemaking method for intaglio prints.

④ Merudine, the format of merudine must be made with a chisel. This is a

round-mouthed steel chisel with sharp and dense teeth. Hold it with your hand and shake it, and

prick the entire surface of the page, leaving it full of marks. The ink print is a velvety black. Then

use a scraper to smooth out the stabbed (i.e. covered with copper thorns) plate

surface. Light scraping will make it dark gray, and heavy scraping will make it light gray. , if you don't scrape it, it will be completely black, but if you scrape it again, it will become white.

⑤The relief method allows a part of the layout to be deeply corroded, and the corroded area

is larger, but does not roll ink on it and directly puts it on the gravure machine for printing, and the paper surface

It shows a relief-like colorless pattern. This method is generally only suitable for local use.

⑥Flying dust method, flying dust corrosion is used to create various shades of gray surfaces.

First, a fly ash box must be built with a hand-cranked fan inside, and then

the polished copper plate must be placed in the box. There is a large amount of rosin powder stored in the box. When the box is closed

and the fan is shaken, the rosin powder will fly in the box and slowly and evenly fall

on the page.

When the author deems it appropriate, take out the copper plate sprinkled with rosin powder and bake it on an electric stove. After heating, the rosin powder melts and coalesces into countless small dots, and when cooled, it condenses into a thin film. After the copper plate with the rosin film was immersed in a nitric acid solution and corroded, a gray color composed of spots was printed. The shade of gray depends on the thickness of the rosin powder, the thickness of the film, and the length of the corrosion time. The author then processed the flying dust method according to his artistic conception and achieved the desired effect.

⑦Soft ground method, fix the preservative made of asphalt, rosin, and beeswax on the page to form a hard film, add it to the preservative With an appropriate amount of mutton fat, the film can be softened. After the layout is rolled onto a soft surface, cover it with a piece of paper

and draw on the back of the paper with a pencil. After drawing, uncover the paper and leave the place where the pen

line is. After absorbing the soft ground, the copper surface will be exposed on the plate, and the nature of the lines will be exactly the same as that drawn with pencil. You can also use some physical objects such as textiles, nets, leaves, paper balls, threads, etc. to imprint on the soft ground. After corrosion, the image of the physical objects can be transferred. onto paper.

⑧Photography method, first dissolve the photosensitive liquid into the preservative and apply it on the layout, then

take a clear black and white film positive, stick it closely to the layout, and then let it Exposed to strong light

and then rinsed in a special solution. At this time, the part of the ground covered by the black film gradually melts, revealing the layout, while the photosensitive part

is reinforced and traced on the print, and then normal processing can be carried out corrosion.

The nitric acid solution can only corrode the exposed areas of the page, turning them into shades of black.

The remaining areas will not be corroded, and will become white, which will appear when taking photos.

⑨ Color registration method, using fly dust corrosion

etching method to make several color separation plates on several copper plates of the same size. The printmaker chooses which color plate to print first and which color plate to print last according to the plan. When placing the plate on the machine for printing, first put a piece of thick paper

under the copper plate, and stick the paper on the machine table. After printing, carefully remove it

The copper plate and backing paper remain on the machine table. At this time, the traces left during the first imprint can be clearly seen on the pad paper, and then carefully place the colored second plate. Embedded in this trace. At this time, the edge of the paper on which the painting was printed for the first time is still pressed under the upper roller of the printing press, and only the part away from the roller can be uncovered. Then carefully put down the paper with the first version printed on it, cover it on the second version, and shake the roller to accurately overprint the second version. The rest of the editions are the same

.

Lithographs are mainly lithographs. Lithography was introduced to China in the mid-19th century. At that time, it was only used to replace woodcuts for printing books. The production method of lithographs is relatively simple. The stone tablet used is a kind of pure and fine limestone. It has countless capillary pores and is therefore water-absorbent. Taking advantage of the fact that oil and water repel each other

, use oily crayons to draw on the stone surface. After the painting is fixed, use a rag to wet the surface with water and draw the areas where the crayon is. It repels water but can absorb ink. Use oil

to roll the ink on it so that the painted area is filled with ink color, and then the painting can be printed on the paper. The printed stone tablets can be polished and reused. There are two ways to grind the plate: one is to grind it with a grindstone and water to make the plate surface as smooth as a mirror, which is called a mirror plate. A type that adds gold

hard sanding to make the surface rough, like drawing paper, is called a matte version. Due to the different requirements of the author

, emery of different thicknesses can be used to grind the layouts of different

thicknesses. Generally speaking, No. 320 emery is the finest, and No. 80 emery is the coarsest. There are three types of platemaking methods:

①Medicated ink stick painting method. Medicinal ink sticks are suitable for painting on rough stone tablets, and can also be used for drawing on glass, metal, and ceramics. Special aluminum pens to replace medicinal ink

sticks. It takes exactly the same time as drawing on paper.

②The brush painting method is to change the medicinal ink stick into ink soluble in water, and use

the brush to dip it in to draw on the mirror plate, which is completely the same as painting on paper. Same.

③Copying method, prepare a special copy paper, use medicated ink stick or brush

Dip the pen in medicated ink to draw on it, then stick it on the stone plate and dissolve it in water

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Use the sticky film on the carbon paper so that the painting sticks to the stone tablet. Various production methods of lithographs require etching with dilute nitric acid and sealing the plate with glue after the painting is completed, so that the ink can be fixed on the plate. When printing, first wet the page, then roll on the ink, then cover it with paper and print it out through a lithograph. The color lithographs are made on the layout.

The marks are overprinted one by one.

Monotype prints are also lithographic prints. The preparation method is simple.

Use thin oil paint or water pink to paint on the glass

(or stone) board, cover it with

paper while it is still wet, and stamp on the back of the paper with the palm of your hand. Only one print can be made, so it is called a single print.

Perforated engraving is to carve a number on a paper plate or iron sheet, press it on the surface of the container, and then paint the color on the back, and the number can be printed. This is

a hole plate. Nowadays, the common transcription printing machines are also perforated plates.

Perforated prints are mainly silk screen prints.

The main material for screen printing is nylon mesh. Initially, silk was used, so it was called silk screen. There are three production methods: ① Cutting method, first use paper or plastic as the carrier

, then apply shellac on it, repeatedly apply 4 to 5 layers, and take pictures after drying

The manuscript is cut and engraved with this layer of adhesive film. After completion, it is placed close to the printing surface of the mesh.

Use an electric iron pad to iron the scraping surface of the mesh to make the adhesive film Soften and

adhere to the mesh, remove the paper or plastic as the carrier, and a hole plate will

remain on the mesh. The cutting method cannot be too fine, but it has the flavor of paper cutting and woodcutting. It is also often used by printmakers. ②Drawing method, use gum arabic liquid to draw on the scraped printing surface of

mesh, wait until dry, apply shellac, and then wash

mesh with warm water. The gum arabic is dissolved and the mesh there becomes transparent. You can also use stone seal ink sticks instead of gum arabic to paint. After applying shellac, wash the mesh with gasoline. ③Photosensitive method, apply photosensitive liquid on the mesh, let it dry in the darkroom

After that, place the painted drawing closely under the mesh, and move it to the exposure table for exposure.

Then rinse and serve.

Screen prints: (middle) Zhao Ruichun's "The Dressing Girl"

The printing method of screen prints is to use the mesh printing surface (i.e.

The side with the mesh facing down) is close to the paper, and then pour the liquid paint on the scraping surface (i.e. the side with the mesh facing up), and then scrape the paint over with a scraper. p>

The material passes through the holes and is printed on the paper below to form a painting. The scraper is made of a square strip of rubber with a wooden handle.

There are two types of pigments for screen printing: oil-based and water-based, depending on the material

they are printed on. Screen technology is widely used in the light industry sector.

Many of the patterns on textiles, glassware, leather, ceramics, plastics and other supplies are printed with screen printing. For the pigments used for screen printing, for convenience, oil paints can be diluted with turpentine. Water-based water-based paints

Powder paints and acrylic paints can be used.

The printed nylon mesh can be cleaned with caustic soda before use.

The nylon net used by printmakers should have 29 meshes per square centimeter. If it is too fine, the mesh will be easily blocked; if it is too thick, the image will not be refined enough. In order to

explore a variety of expressions, modern printmakers sometimes mix various types of printmaking methods in one print according to the content

needs. This kind of printmaking It's called comprehensive printmaking. For example, the black main plate is printed with woodcut or copper engraving, the color-registered part is printed with color watermark, and the other part is printed with photographic screen printing, etc.

Modern creative version

The forms of painting are rich and varied, and the original classification cannot be used as a framework to limit its development

Its development