Slide 1
Rembrandt combined lines made by different printing methods
Rembrandt combined printmaking methods to obtain different effects. An etched line and a drypoint mark could contribute differently to one image.
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Drypoint raises a small burr of metal beside the cut. That ridge holds additional ink, producing a richer and softer-looking mark than the groove alone would make.
Slide 2
A drypoint ridge can wear, changing later impressions
A drypoint burr is a small raised ridge of metal beside the cut. It holds extra ink but can wear during printing.
Impressions from the same plate can therefore differ in line richness.
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This gives a print a material history beyond its design. Comparing impressions can reveal the changing condition of the printing surface, not merely differences in the artist's drawing.
Slide 3
Reworking the plate creates a new state
Rembrandt reworked some plates substantially. An impression made after a change belongs to a different state of the print.
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Changes can remove figures or transform the balance of light and dark. A state is therefore evidence of artistic revision, while another impression may simply repeat an unchanged plate.
Slide 4
Paper or vellum also changes the ink’s appearance
Rembrandt printed on different supports, including paper and vellum. Their colour and surface changed how the ink appeared.
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The Met discusses a Three Crosses impression on vellum with a warm overall tone. The support becomes part of the image's atmosphere rather than a neutral carrier.
Slide 5
Wiping can change tone without recutting the plate
Ink left on a plate's surface can alter the tone of a print. Printing decisions can change an impression without recutting the entire design.
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Rembrandt's experiments make the distinction between plate and impression especially useful. The plate supplies one set of possibilities, while support and inking help realise a particular result.
Sources
- Rembrandt van Rijn: Prints
Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The Printed Image in the West: Drypoint
Metropolitan Museum of Art