RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.--ZINK AND STEEL
PLATES.--VARIOUS THEORIES.
A. RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.
73. =The Roulette.=--The latitude which I gave you does not extend to
the point of approving of all material resources without any exception.
There is one which I shall not permit you to make use of, as the needle
has enough resources of its own to be able to do without it. I allude to
the _roulette_, which finds its natural application in other species of
engraving.
74. =The Flat Point.=--Employ the _flat point_ with judgment; it takes
up a great deal of varnish, but gives lines of little depth, and of less
strength than those which can be obtained by prolonged biting, with an
ordinary needle.
75. =The Graver or Burin.=--"And the graver: what do you say to that?"
The graver is the customary and fundamental tool of what is properly
called "line-engraving." Although it is not absolutely necessary in the
species of etching which we are studying, there are cases, nevertheless,
in which it can be used to advantage, but always as an auxiliary only.
If, for instance, you desire to give force to a deeply bitten but
grayish and dull passage, or to a flat tint which looks monotonous, a
few resolute and irregular touches with the graver will do wonders, and
will add warmth and color. A few isolated lines with the graver give
freshness to a muddy, broken, or foxy tint, without increasing its
value.
The graver may also be employed in patching deeply bitten passages.
The graver, of a rectangular form, with an angular cutting edge, is
applied almost horizontally on the bare copper; its handle, rounded
above, flat below, is held in the palm of the hand; the index finger
presses on the steel bar; it is pushed forward, and easily enters the
metal: the degree of pressure applied, and the angle which it makes with
the plate, produces the difference in the engraved lines. The color
obtained by the burin is deeper than that obtained by biting, as it cuts
more deeply into the copper. If extensively used in an etching, the work
executed by the graver contrasts rather unpleasantly with the quality of
the etched work, as its lines are extremely clear cut. To get rid of
this inequality, it is sufficient to rebite the passages in question
very slightly, which gives to the burin-lines the appearance of etched
lines.
In short: use the graver with great circumspection, as its application
to works of the needle is a very delicate matter, and gives to an
etching a character different from that which we are striving for. It
seems to me that to employ it on a free etching, done on the spur of the
moment, would be like throwing a phrase from Bossuet into the midst of a
lively conversation.[17]
76. =Sandpaper.=--As regards other mechanical means, be distrustful of
tints obtained by rubbing the copper with sandpaper; these tints
generally show in the proof as muddy spots, and are wanting in
freshness. Avoid the process, because of its difficulty of application.
Only a very skilful engraver can put it to good uses.
77. =Sulphur Tints.=--I shall be less afraid to see you make use of
_flowers of sulphur_ for the purpose of harmonizing or increasing the
weight of a tint. The sulphur is mixed with oil, so as to form a
homogeneous paste thick enough to be laid on with a brush.
By the action of these two substances the polish on the plate is
destroyed, and the result in printing is a fresh and soft tint, which
blends agreeably with the work of the needle.
Differences in value are easily obtained by allowing the sulphur to
remain on the plate for a greater or less period of time. This species
of biting acts more readily in hot weather; a few minutes are sufficient
to produce a firm tint. In cold weather relatively more time is needed.
The corrosions produced in this way have quite a dark appearance on the
plate, but they produce much lighter tints in printing. If you are not
satisfied with the result obtained, you can rub it out with charcoal,
as the copper is corroded only quite superficially.
Owing to this extreme slightness of biting, the burnisher may also be
used to reduce any parts which are to stand out white.
This process, as you see, is very accommodating; but it is too much like
mezzotint or aquatint, and, furthermore, it can only be applied in flat
tints, without modelling. I have, nevertheless, explained it to you, so
that you may be able to use it, if you should have a notion to do so, as
a matter of curiosity, but with reserve. It is better to use the dry
point, which has more affinity to the processes natural to etching.
[Illustration: Plate V.]
78. =Mottled Tints.=--You may also make use of the following process
(but with the same restrictions) in the representation of parts of old
walls, of rocks and earth, or of passages to which you desire to impart
the character of a sort of artistic disorder:--Distribute a quantity of
ordinary etching-ground on a copper plate sufficiently heated; then take
your dabber, and, having charged it unequally with varnish, and having
also heated your etched plate, press the dabber on the passages which
are to receive the tint; the varnish adheres to the plate in an
irregular manner, leaving the copper bare here and there. Now stop out
with the brush those parts which you desire to protect, and bite in with
pure acid; the result will be a curiously mottled irregular tint (see
Pl. V. Fig. 2). Properly used in the representation of subjects on which
you are at liberty to exercise your fancy, this process will give you
unexpected and often happy results.
79. =Stopping-out before all Biting.=--Before we proceed, I must show
you an easy method of representing a thunder-storm (see Pl. V. Fig.
2):--Work the sky with the needle, very closely, so as to get the sombre
tints of the clouds; and, before biting, trace the streaks of lightning
on the etched work with a brush and stopping-out varnish; being thus
protected against the acid, these streaks will show white in the
printing, and the effect will be neater and more natural than if you had
attempted to obtain it by the needle itself, as you will avoid the
somewhat hard outlines on either side of the lightning, which would
otherwise have been necessary to indicate it.
You can employ the same process for effects of moonlight, for reflected
lights on water, and, in fact, for all light lines which it is difficult
to pick out on a dark ground.
B. ZINK PLATES AND STEEL PLATES.
80. =Zink Plates.=--So far I have spoken to you of copper plates only;
but etchings are also executed on zink and on steel. Zink bites rapidly,
and needs only one quarter of the time necessary for copper, with the
same strength of acid; or, with the same length of time, an acid of ten
degrees is sufficient. The biting is coarse, and without either delicacy
or depth. A zink plate prints only a small edition.[18]
81. =Steel Plates.=--Steel also bites with great rapidity. One part of
acid to seven of water is sufficient; and the biting is accomplished, on
the average, in from one to five minutes, from the faintest distance to
the strongest foreground.
Free, artistic etchings are very rarely executed on steel, which is more
particularly used in other kinds of engraving.
C. VARIOUS OTHER PROCESSES.
82. =Soft Ground Etching.=--There is a kind of etching known as
_soft-ground etching_, and but little practised at present, which was
successfully cultivated about thirty years ago by Louis Marvy and
Masson. The engravers of the last century used to call it _gravure en
maniere de crayon_.[19]
[Illustration: Plate VI.]
Take a ball of common etching-ground, and melt it in the water-bath in a
small vessel, adding to it, in winter, an equal volume, and in summer
only one-third of the same volume, of tallow. Let the mixture cool, form
it into a ball, and wrap it up in a piece of very fine silk. Ground your
plate in the usual way, and smoke lightly. On this soft ground fix a
piece of very thin paper having a grain, and on the paper thus attached
to the plate, execute your design with a lead-pencil. Wherever the
pencil passes, the varnish sticks to the paper in proportion to the
pressure of the hand; and, on carefully removing the sheet, it takes up
the varnish that adheres to it. Bite the plate, and the result will be a
facsimile of the design executed on the paper. (See Pl. VI.)
If the proofs are too soft, or wanting in decision, the plate may
be worked over with the needle, by regrounding, and then rebiting it.
The first state can thus be elaborated like an ordinary etching, and the
necessary precision can be given to it whenever the idea to be expressed
is vaguely or insufficiently rendered; or the same end may be reached by
the dry point. In either case, however, all the retouches must be
executed by irregular stippling, so that they may harmonize with the
result of the first biting. Otherwise there will be a lack of
homogeneity in the appearance of etchings of this sort, in which the
grain of the paper plays an important part. Smooth paper gives no result
whatever. The paper used may have a coarse grain or a fine grain, at the
pleasure of the etcher, or papers of different grain may be used in the
same design. This style of etching requires great care in handling the
plate, on account of the tenderness of the ground. In drawing, a
_hand-rest_ must be used, so that the hand may not touch the plate.
[Illustration: Plate VII.]
83. =Dry Point Etching.=--The _dry point_ is also used for etching,
without the intervention of the acid-bath. The design is executed with
the dry point on the bare copper; the difference in values is obtained
by the greater or less amount of pressure used, and by the difference in
the distance between the lines. (See Plate VII.) The brilliancy of
effect which etchings of this kind may or may not possess, depends on
the use made of the _scraper_ (see paragraph 49, p. 33).
You will find it convenient to varnish and smoke your plate, to begin
with, and to trace the leading lines of your design on the ground,
taking care to cut lightly into the copper with the point. Then remove
the varnish, and continue your drawing, guided by these general
outlines.
It is best to commence with the sky, or other delicate passages, and to
remove the bur from them, if there are other stronger lines to be drawn
over them.
You can see perfectly well what you are doing, by rubbing a little
lamp-black mixed with tallow into the lines as you proceed, and cleaning
the plate with the flat of your hand; in this way you can control your
work, and can carry it forward until it is finished, either by removing
more or less of the bur, or by allowing all of it to stand, or by the
elaboration of those passages which seem to need it. The lines show on
the plate as they are intended to show on the paper. You can therefore
bring out your subject by shading; you can lay vigorous lines over lines
from which the bur has been removed; you can take out, and you can put
in. The effect produced in the printing is velvety and strong, similar
to that produced by the stump on paper. Rembrandt employed the dry
point, without scraping, in some of his principal etchings.
84. =The Pen Process.=--I must now speak to you of a process which
offers certain advantages. Clean your plate thoroughly, first with
turpentine, and then with whiting, and take care not to touch the
polished surface with your fingers. Execute a design on the bare copper
with the pen and ordinary ink. You must not, of course, expect to find
in the pen the same delicacy as in the needle.
The design having been finished and thoroughly dried, ground and smoke
your plate without, for the present, taking any further notice of the
design; but be sure to see to it that the coat of varnish is not too
thick; then lay the plate into water, and let it stay there for a
quarter of an hour. Having withdrawn the plate, rub it lightly with a
piece of flannel; the ink, having been softened by the water, comes off,
together with the varnish which covers it, and leaves the design in
well-defined lines on the copper, which you may now bite.
You may work either with one pen and several bitings, or with several
pens of various degrees of fineness and one biting.
As in the case of soft ground etching, you may make additions with the
needle to give delicacy.
It is necessary to ground the plate and to soak it in water as soon as
may be after the finishing of the design. At the end of two days, the
ink refuses to rub off.