Mezzo-tinto , “black manner” ( Italian: mezzo - medium, tinto - painted) - type of engraving on metal ( gravure engraving). The main fundamental difference from other etching styles is not the creation of a system of recesses - strokes and dots, but the smoothing of bright spots on a grain board. The effects achieved by mezzo-tinto cannot be obtained by other “tone” manners. In other words, the image required in the print is created due to the different gradation of light areas on a black background.
In the first half of the XX century, the term mezzo-tinto was used in printing to refer to illustrations made by gravure printing [1] .
Content
Technique
The pre-polished surface of the metal board is subjected to granulation - it is coated with the help of a “rocking chair” ( lapidary ) with many tiny recesses, acquiring a characteristic roughness. Grain is a long and laborious process. When printing, such a board (“blank”) gives a solid black tone. There are other, including due to etching, methods of granulation of the board.
In places corresponding to the bright parts of the drawing, the board is scraped and smoothed, achieving gradual transitions from shadow to light. Mezzo-tinto engravings are distinguished by depth and velvet tone, a wealth of black and white shades. Mezzo Tinto is also used for color printing.
The inventor of this technique is the Dutch self-taught artist , who worked in Kassel (Germany), who performed his first engraving in this technique in 1642 .
Using Mezzo Tinto
- Edward deyes
- Richard Earl
- Maurits Cornelis Escher
- William Peter
- Johann Peter Pichler
- John Farber (Sr.)
- Johann Stenglin
- Johann Jacob
Notes
- ↑ Soviet photo, 1929 , p. 47.
Literature
- V. Samokhin. What is mezzo-tinto (rus.) // " Soviet Photo ": magazine. - 1929. - No. 1 . - S. 17 .