Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/464

Rh ENGRAVING Rebitiug. Influence of Rem brandt and Claude. The re vival of etching. and more rapidly when heated. To obviate irregularity caused by difference of temperature, the writer of this paper has found it a good plan to heat the Dutch mordant artificially to 95 Fahr. by lamps under the bath (for which a photographer s porcelain tray is most convenient), and keep it steadily to that temperature ; the results may then be counted upon ; but whatever the temperature fixed upon, the results will be regular if it is regular. To get different degrees of biting on the same plate the lines which, are to be pale are &quot; stopped out&quot; by being painted over with Japan varnish or with etching ground dissolved in oil of lavender, the darkest lines being reserved to the last, as they have to bite longest. When the acid has done its work properly the lines are bitten in such various degrees of depth that they will print with the degree of blackness required ; but if some parts of the subject requite to be made paler, they can be lowered by rubbing them with charcoal and olive oil, and if thoy have to be made deeper they can be febitteu, or covered with added shading, Rebiting is done with the roller above mentioned, which is now charged very lightly with paste and rolled over the copper with no pressure but its own weight, so as to cover the smooth surface, but not fill up any of the lines. The oil of lavender is then expelled as before by gently heating the plate, but it is not smoked. The lines which require rebiting may now be rebitten, and the others preserved against the action of the acid bystopping out. These are a few of the most essential technical points in etching, but there are many matters of detail for which the reader is referred to the special works on the subject. The two countries in which etching has been most prac tised are Holland and Fiance. It has also been successfully practised in Italy, Germany, and England, but not to so great an extent. It has resembled line engraving in receiv ing a powerful impulse from celebrated painters, but whereas with the exception of Albert Diirer the painters have seldom been practical line engravers, they have advanced etching not only by advice given to others but by the work of their own hands, Rembrandt did as much for etching as either Raphael or Rubens for line engraving ; and in landscape the etchings of Claude had an influence which still continues, both Rembrandt and Claude being practical workmen in etching, and very skilful workmen. And not only these, but many other eminent painters have practised etching successfully, eacli in his own way. Ostade, Ruysdael, Berghem, Paul Potter, Karl Dujardin, etched as they painted, and so did a greater than any of them, Vandyke. In the earlier part of the present century etching was almost a defunct art, except as it was employed by engravers as a help to get faster through their work, of which &quot; engraving &quot; got all the credit, the public being unable to distinguish befcween etched lines and lines cut with the burin. During the last fifteen or twenty years, however, there has been a great revival of etching as an in dependent art, a revival which has extended all over Europe, though France has had by far the largest and most import ant share in it. It was hoped, at the beginning of this revival, that it would lead to the production of many fine original works ; but the commercial laws of demand and supply have unfortunately made modern etching almost entirely the slave of painting. Nearly ail the clever etchers of the present day are occupied in translating pictures, which many of them, especially Unger, Jacquemart, Flameng, and Rajou, do with remarkable ability, even to the very touch and texture of the painter. The comparative rapidity of the process, and the ease with which it imitates the manner of painters, have caused etching to be now very generally preferred to line engraving by publishers for the translation of all pictures except those belonging to a severe and classical style of art, for which the burin is, and will always remain, better adapted than the etching-needle. Yet, notwithstanding the present commercial predomi nance of etching from pictures, there are still some artists and eminent amateurs who have cultivated original etching with success. Mr Seymour Haden, Mr Whistler, Mr Samuel Palmer, and others in England, MM. Bracquernond, Dau- bigny, Charles Jacque, Appian, Lalanne, and others on the Continent, besides that singular and remarkable genius Charles Meryon, have produced original works of very various interest and power. Etching clubs, or associations of artists for the publication of original etchings, have been founded in England, France, Germany, and Belgium. The real difficulty of the art, and its apparent facility, have led to much worthless production, but this ought not to make us overlook what is really valuable. The following is a brief analysis of different styles of etch- Sty] ing. 1. Pure Line .As there is line engraving, so there is etc ^ Hire etching; but as the etching- needle is a freer instrument than the burin, the line has qualities which differ widely from those of the burin line. Each of the two has its own charm and beauty; the liberty of the one is charming, and the re straint of the other is admirable also in its right place. In line etching, as in line engraving, the great masters purposely exhibit the line and do not hide it under too much shading. 2. Line and Shade. -This answers exactly in etching to Mantegna s work in engraving. The most important lines are drawn first throughout, and the shade thrown over them like a wash with the brush over a pen sketch in indelible ink. 3. Shade and Texture. This is used chiefly to imitate oil-painting. Here the line (properly so called) is entirely abandoned, and the attention of the etcher is given to tex ture and chiaroscuro. He uses lines, of course, to express these, but does not exhibit them for their own beauty ; orr the contrary, he conceals them. Of these three styles of etching the first is technically the easiest, and being also the most rapid, is adopted for sketching on the copper from nature; the second is the next in difficulty ; and the third the most difficult, on account i if the biting, which is never easy to manage when it becomes elaborate. The etcher has, however, many re sources; he can make passages paler by burnishing them, or by using charcoal, or he can efface them entirely with the scraper and charcoal ; he can darken them by rebiting or by regrounding the plate and adding fresh work ; and he need not run the risk of biting the very palest passages of all, because these can be easily done with the dry point, which is simply a well-sluirpeued stylus used directly on the copper without the help of acid. It is often asserted that anyone can etch who can draw, but this is a mistaken assertion likely to mislead. Without requiring so long an apprenticeship as the burin, etching is a very difficult art indeed, the two main causes of its difficulty being that the artist does riot see his work properly as he proceeds, and that mistakes or misfortunes in the biting, which are of frequent occurrence to the inexperienced, may destroy all the relations of tone. Aquatint. This is a kind of etching which successfully A&amp;lt;ju imitates washes with a brush. There are many ways of preparing a plate for aquatint, but the following i.s the best. Have three different solutions of rosin in rectiQed alcohol, making them of various degrees of strength, but always thin enough to be quite fluid, the weakest* solution being almost colourless. First pour the strongest solution on the plate. When it dries it will produce a granulation ; and you may now bite as in ordinary etching for your darker tones, stopping out what the acid is not to operate upon, or you may use a brush charged with acid, per- chloride of iron being a very good mordant for the pur pose. After cleaning the plate, you proceed with the weaker solutions in the same way, the weakest giving the finest granulation for skies, distances, &c. The process