Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
L\\\'essuyage inachevé du cuivre
English translation:
incomplete wiping of the plate
Added to glossary by
MoiraB
Nov 30, 2016 07:24
7 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
L\'essuyage inachevé du cuivre
French to English
Art/Literary
Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
prints/etchings
Describing one of Picasso's prints/etchings (Faun revealing a sleeping woman) from the Vollard Suite, in a museum's collection:
L'essuyage inachevé du cuivre lors de l'impression donne à notre épreuve un effet de nuit où la clarté lunaire répand une atmosphère douce.
What's actually happening here? 'Wiping' seems a bit prosaic. Is there an art term?
L'essuyage inachevé du cuivre lors de l'impression donne à notre épreuve un effet de nuit où la clarté lunaire répand une atmosphère douce.
What's actually happening here? 'Wiping' seems a bit prosaic. Is there an art term?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +5 | incomplete wiping of the plate |
Charles Davis
|
Proposed translations
+5
21 mins
Selected
incomplete wiping of the plate
"Wiping" is fine; I don't know of a more technical term and I don't think there is one. "Cuivre" means the plate and that's the word you would use in English.
Here's an example of this very phrase in a book on the etchings of Segers:
"The streaks in the sky, present in both impressions, but different in each case, resulted from incomplete wiping of the plate".
https://books.google.es/books?id=1v31CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA65&lpg=PA...
Here's one of many examples, taken at random:
"Meryon printed this plate himself, carefully wiping the plate so as to give a luminous glow to the central part of the image. Ex-collection John W. Wilson (Lugt 2581)."
http://allinsongallery.com/meryon/index.html
"WIPING THE PLATE
This is one of the areas where experience and instinct kicks in and I have seen all etchers get it wrong at some time. The main characteristic of intaglio printing is that the ink is printed from out of the lines which of course means that the ink on the surface has to be removed. Invariably some ink will remain - this gives intaglio prints their distinctive plate tone. The danger is in over wiping the plate and losing subtlety in the etched image or under wiping and losing detail in the line work - the balance is a matter of personal choice and often becomes the style of each individual printmaker. It is this stage that prevents etching becoming easy to mechanise"
http://www.limitededitionprints.info/etching-paper-printing-...
Here's an example of this very phrase in a book on the etchings of Segers:
"The streaks in the sky, present in both impressions, but different in each case, resulted from incomplete wiping of the plate".
https://books.google.es/books?id=1v31CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA65&lpg=PA...
Here's one of many examples, taken at random:
"Meryon printed this plate himself, carefully wiping the plate so as to give a luminous glow to the central part of the image. Ex-collection John W. Wilson (Lugt 2581)."
http://allinsongallery.com/meryon/index.html
"WIPING THE PLATE
This is one of the areas where experience and instinct kicks in and I have seen all etchers get it wrong at some time. The main characteristic of intaglio printing is that the ink is printed from out of the lines which of course means that the ink on the surface has to be removed. Invariably some ink will remain - this gives intaglio prints their distinctive plate tone. The danger is in over wiping the plate and losing subtlety in the etched image or under wiping and losing detail in the line work - the balance is a matter of personal choice and often becomes the style of each individual printmaker. It is this stage that prevents etching becoming easy to mechanise"
http://www.limitededitionprints.info/etching-paper-printing-...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks a lot, Charles. Excellent references. In fact, the limited edition prints page had a printmaking glossary, where "wiping the plate" was defined: In etching or engraving the plate ink is pushed in to the lines which requires covering the whole surface of the plate with ink (attempting to ink areas more selectively will result in a patchy plate tone) Wiping is the action of removing ink from the surface of the plate whilst leaving it in the lines. This is done using a folded pad of scrim which is swept across the surface of the plate. Care is needed not to rub the plate as this will drag ink out of the lines. The plate can be finished off by hand wiping the plate with the edge of the hand which will heighten the contrast of the print."
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