The main feature of a lithographic print is the absence of any pressure in all elements of the image. The paint lies evenly on the surface of the paper.
In places of the sheet outside the stone, the paper has its own texture, but in places in contact with the stone, its surface is leveled by the pressure of the rib (a rib is a long bar pointed at the bottom in a lithographic printing press, pressing the paper to the stone when the stone is placed on it paper is pulled under the rib).
In very rare cases, an onslaught similar to the onslaught in metal engravings can be on a print from a lithograph on an aluminum or zinc plate (alggraphy), made on an etching or some other press.
But these two cases are an exception, and in general in lithography, as we have already said, there is no pressure.
Lithographs made in pencil on root stone are characterized by strokes consisting of small dots of irregular shape, irregular and of varying sizes.
In old lithographs there was fine, even graining, on which the drawing was made with smooth tonal transitions, achieved by uniform shading with a pencil. The needle work is often visible, weakening the tone in the right places in the design.
The asphalt scraping technique is clearly distinguishable from other techniques by its white pattern on a black background. The tonality is also formed from dots, similar in shape to the dots in a pencil lithograph, but white on black.
The work with the needle is not of an auxiliary nature, as in the previous case, but rather determining the image.
Lithography on smooth stone is almost no different in appearance from drawings with a pen, brush or any other method, but without streaks and unevenness in the paint layer characteristic of these drawings. On a lithographic print, we see a smooth surface of the paint with the absence of any pressure on the paper and paint, typical for lithography.
Since the 40s 19th century lithographs were often painted with watercolors.
Circulations were often printed from a transfer to another stone, which preserved the original stone and made it possible to print from several stones at once. Translations were usually reprinted.
After the invention of the new method by Firmin Gilot, they began to make transfers of lithography onto zinc. Such translations were placed in the same printed form with the typesetting, which made the printing process easier and cheaper. These translations, or, as they were called, zhelotazhi, were published as separate sheets in series and, like lithographs, painted with watercolors.
An example of this type of publication is Gavarni’s “Masks and Faces” series. The first edition was printed from the original stones, the second from a transfer to smooth stone, and the third from the vestiges. All three editions were painted in watercolors.
Transfers from original stone another stone, and even more so zinc, entailed, of course, some losses in the design. Therefore, artists making lithographs for transfer to zinc deliberately coarsened their work so that in the end the drawing would not lose its details during translation. This is what Delacroix did, for example, when he made originals for magazine vests.
Zincographic transfers from lithographs differ from lithographs in the pressure typical of letterpress printing and the roundness of the printing elements characteristic of an etched form. The strokes have uneven edges from the undercuts (see below about zincography).
Later, lithography, in turn, was used to print translations of metal engravings and woodcuts from stone, as discussed above. Such prints are determined by the already mentioned features of lithography in the style of a particular engraving technique.
At the end of the 19th century. lithography began to be widely used for reproducing works of painting and color graphics in color. These are the so-called chromolithographs, in the manufacturing process of which they used a large number of stones that convey many shades of color and tone.
The most characteristic feature of this type of lithography, in addition to a large number of printing forms (12-20 stones), is the transmission of tonal and color transitions by a combination of dots applied with a pen to a smooth stone.
engraving print technique authenticity
Engraving- a type of graphic art (graphic technique, printing technology), the works of which are represented in their completed form by printed impressions. They are classified by such a concept and term as printmaking, which unites different types of printed graphic works created using letterpress and intaglio printing techniques.
Engraving impressions are obtained from “boards” (printing plates) that are used to replicate the image different ways printing from relief surfaces, in color engraving - several boards. Each print is considered a work of authorship (even if the board was cut by an engraver based on the artist’s drawing). Sometimes lithography and silk-screen printing are mistakenly classified as engraving.
Engraving originated in Europe during the Middle Ages. Interest in it increased significantly at the beginning of the Renaissance, as it made it possible to easily replicate various images. In Russia, interest in engraving arose in the first half of the 18th century, when engraving was a kind of propaganda and agitation tool for the glorification of Russia. Usually, engravings reproduce scenes from already painted paintings.
Depending on the method of obtaining the print, there are “letterpress engraving” and “intaglio engraving”. In the first case, the paint is applied to the surface from the plane of the board, and in the second, from the recesses of the strokes.
Depending on the material of the printing form, engravings are divided into metal engravings, linocuts, woodcuts, cardboard engravings, wax engravings, etc.
The form of metal engraving, depending on the processing method, is divided into the following types: engraving with a cutter on copper, steel, etching, mezzotint, aquatint, drypoint, etc.
Autoengraving is an engraving in which the printing form is made by the artist himself - the author of the drawing from which the print is made.
Lithography- a printing method in which ink is transferred under pressure from a flat printing plate 
forms on paper. Lithography is based on a physical and chemical principle, which involves obtaining an impression from a completely smooth surface (stone), which, thanks to appropriate processing, acquires the ability to accept special lithographic paint in its individual areas. Invented in the mid-1790s. A. Senefelder.
To obtain a lithographic print, a drawing is applied to the polished surface of a lithographic stone using special fat-containing materials - a lithographic pencil (a special greasy chalk) or lithographic ink. Then the design is lightly etched with a weak solution of nitric acid with small additives. Now, if you moisten the stone and roll thick printing ink onto it, it will stick in the places where the design was. Blank areas treated with acid and absorbing moisture will repel greasy paint.
Compared to other printing techniques, lithography is relatively inexpensive. Working on stone is easier and simpler than on a copper board. This is one of the few techniques that allows you to make corrections and alterations to a drawing on a printed form, as well as reuse it for new ones; drawings, having previously sanded the surface of the stone.
Color lithography is widely used. In this case, for each color the design is made on a separate stone. Prints on paper are made sequentially from all stones, strictly monitoring the combination of prints: from light to dark tones.
Oleography is a type of color lithography used to reproduce oil painting. It was widespread in the second half of the 19th century. To make them more similar to paintings, typographic prints were varnished and subjected to relief embossing, which resulted in an imitation of the canvas surface and relief strokes.
Of course, only artists should distinguish between these techniques. But, you must admit, sometimes it’s nice to show off your erudition in a conversation. We hope our article will help you with this.
Lithography (from Greek. lythos- stone, grapho- I draw) is a type of printed graphics, usually classified as engraving (although there are no engraving techniques in it), in which an image is printed from the flat surface of a stone.
The principle of operation is contained in the name itself - from Greek it is translated as “I draw on a stone.” Since the image is not cut through and the printed surface has no relief, the lithography technique is referred to as “flat printing”. An image is drawn on a carefully polished stone of a special type of limestone of a bluish, yellowish or gray color - with a special greasy pencil, pen or brush. Then the surface of the stone is etched with a solution of gum arabic or nitric acid, while the design remains unetched, since the acid does not affect the fat. Then thick printing ink is applied to the moistened stone - it is fixed only on the drawing, literally repeating it, and will not stick to the etched surfaces of the stone. After this, the stone is fixed in the machine and an impression is made.
A lithograph that an artist makes himself from start to finish, without submitting his drawing to a reproduction artist, is called autolithography (Greek autos - himself, independent). At the end of the 19th century. The technique of color lithography was born - chromolithography (from the Greek chromos - color) from several stones or plates (i.e. mixed colors are obtained by applying paints of three primary colors to one another).
Lithography is one of the most common engraving techniques. It was invented almost by accident in 1796 by the actor, playwright and musician from Bohemia Aloysius Senefelder, who urgently needed a quick and cheap way to print music. One day he wrote down a bill from a washerwoman in thick ink on a stone and suddenly discovered that prints could be made from this stone. He appreciated his discovery with dignity - in 1806 he opened his own printing house in Munich, and in 1818 he published a manual on lithographic printing. Since that time, lithography has actually conquered the book market and the field of printed graphics, displacing woodcuts. Its popularity was also explained by the fact that for a long time there had been a need for such printed graphics that would best convey a pencil stroke, a brush stroke, but most importantly, would allow the artist himself to make an engraving without using the services of carvers. By the way, this is why lithography was widely introduced into book printing in the 19th century. in Islamic countries, where non-handwritten technical reproduction of the holy book of the Koran was prohibited.
Lithography gave the artist complete freedom, but there was also a danger lurking in it - the loss of the features of the graphic technique as such, turning into a copy of a drawing with an ordinary pencil, sanguine, watercolor, etc. Linearity and clear contours are not suitable for lithography, because its beauty and charm lie in the rough, velvety touches, thick or lightening shadows, airy complexity of space. It is thanks to the ease of design that it began to be widely used for printing posters, fashion pictures, magazine illustrations, and leaflets. And for its expressive qualities it was loved by the French and English romantics, Barbizons, impressionists and symbolists of the late 19th century.
In the 1st half of the 19th century. lithography also attracted Russian artists who worked in portraits and landscapes - O. Kiprensky, A. Venetsianov, K. Bryullov. A little later, in the 2nd half of the 19th century. genre lithographs, satirical sheets, caricature and book illustration appeared. At the same time, a number of major artists turned to lithography - I. Shishkin in landscapes, I. Repin in genre scenes, V. Serov in portraits. If in the first half - mid-19th century. The lithographic technique was used primarily as a convenient reproduction method, then from the 1900s. an original lithography is born - artists are looking for ways to reveal its capabilities without turning it into a simple duplication of pencil, sanguine, charcoal, etc. Representatives of the artistic association “World of Art” - A. Benois, A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, M. Dobuzhinsky, P. Kuznetsov.
In the era of the avant-garde, in the 1910s, lithography found wide use in the publications of Cubo-Futurist poets. At this time, lithographed books, illustrated by outstanding avant-garde artists A. Lentulov, N. Goncharova, O. Rozanova, M. Larionov, became widespread.
In Soviet times, lithography also had its significant masters. Outstanding people worked in lithography graphic artists V. Lebedev, N. Tyrsa, N. Kupreyanov, E. Charushin, K. Rudakov, E. Kibrik, A. Kaplan and others. Experimental lithographic workshops provided ample opportunities for the development and improvement of technology.
In the 2nd half of the 20th century. lithography turns out to be in demand by representatives of unofficial art, the “second Russian avant-garde”, conceptualists such as M. Grobman, I. Makarevich, D. Plavinsky, M. Shemyakin and many others.
St. Petersburg, Circle of lovers of Russian fine publications, 1913. 292, p.: ill., 73 l. ill.; Circulation 500 no. copies, of which 60 copies. (I-LX) registered and for members of the Circle, 440 copies. - (1-440) for sale. In an illustrated color publisher's cover. 31x23 cm. The publication includes 186 illustrations in the text and 73 on separate sheets, made in the techniques of drypoint (portrait of I.V. Ratkov-Rozhnov), heliogravure, phototype, woodcut lithography, copper engraving accompanied by explanatory text.
This unique, comprehensive publication describes in detail the types of works of graphic art, giving the distinctive features of the main techniques - wood engraving, copper and lithography, as well as each manner of execution. The publication enriches with the knowledge and practical skills necessary to be able to distinguish one style from another, the original from a fake, introduces the signs of falsification, the rules of handling and storage, and the basics of restoration of reproductions. A historical overview of foreign graphic art and the domestic school is given based on the classical work of D.A. Rovinsky. The text is complemented by magnificent reproductions. The book will be of interest to collectors, art historians, art students, bibliophiles and all true connoisseurs of art.
According to V.A. Vereshchagin, the book “Engraving and Lithography” is the most significant publication of the Circle, “which alone... is enough to justify its (the Circle’s) long-term existence.” Being an anniversary event dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the CLRII, it was undertaken in memory of Ilya Vladimirovich Ratkov-Rozhnov (the first secretary and active member of the Circle, who died in January 1907 at the age of twenty-four) with money donated by his family. According to the author, the book was intended to acquaint novice collectors and bibliophiles with the history of the development of graphic art in Western Europe and Russia, the features of various techniques (on wood, metal) and manners (black, dotted, lavis, aquatint, etc.) of engraving, be able to recognize them in practice, distinguishing an engraving from a lithograph, an original from a fake, teach the rules of handling artistic sheets, and the basics of restoration.
The book also contains “Dedication” to I.V. Ratkov-Rozhnov - a biographical article written by the permanent chairman of the Circle V.A. Vereshchagin, preface by I.I. Leman, a list of sources he used, a name index, a list of illustrative material and an article by collector M. A. Ostrogradsky “Estami and its appearance,” which provides detailed recommendations for recognizing, classifying and storing prints. The publication was printed at the printing house of R.R. Golike and A.I. Wilborg "with all the luxury available to modern technology." The book contains 186 illustrations: 115 in the text, 71 on separate sheets. Among the extra-textual illustrations is a portrait of I.V. Ratkova-Rozhnova, engraved with drypoint by M. Rundaltsev, 7 heliogravures (1 colorful), about 60 phototypes (3 colorful); they are either printed on separate sheets (thick laid paper) or pasted as reproductions onto separate sheets of Whatman paper. 115 text drawings are used as illustrations of the described technique and as book decorations (headpieces, endings, vignettes). In total, the publication reproduces 54 woodcuts (4 outside the text and 50 in the text), 109 copper engravings (54 outside the text and 55 in the text), 23 lithographs (13 outside the text and 10 in the text) using heliogravures, phototypes, photoengravings and other methods. ). Registered copies contain an additional illustration - a reproduction of the famous work of the English engraver W. Ward “Juvenile Employment” (“ Children's activity", With. 176). The publication was published in a paperback parchment cover. It was sold at a very high price at that time - 35 rubles per copy. The book was a great success among contemporaries and immediately after its publication it became a bibliographic rarity, especially personalized copies intended for members of the Circle. Critics also praised it highly, noting that this work “is the first history of engraving and lithography in the Russian language, compiled very completely and in detail, and in terms of its significance should take pride of place in a number of first-class works in all languages on graphics issues.” This fundamental work still retains its scientific and bibliophile value.
E.S. Soboleva
JOSIF IOSIFOVICH LEMAN - TRUSTEE
ACADEMIC MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY
Leman, Joseph Iosifovich(Lehmann) (1866-?) is one of the major and influential figures of St. Petersburg culture of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Unfortunately, there is only fragmentary information about the life and activities of this outstanding person: merchant of the 1st guild (since 1897), nobleman (since 1904), commerce advisor (since 1906), fellow chairman of the board of the Mutual Credit Society printing business in St. Petersburg, Chairman of the Board of the Joint Stock Company “Slovolitni O.I. Leman in St. Petersburg,” a member of many charitable committees (fellow chairman of the School of Printing, founded in 1884), a prominent figure in the Russian Society of Printing Workers, etc. Documents from the Russian State Historical Archive and the St. Petersburg branch of the RAS Archive shed light on some aspects of the life and work of I.I. Leman, his interests and achievements. The owner of one of the largest type foundries in St. Petersburg and a successful entrepreneur, I.I. Lehman was also a keen bibliophile and collector. Developing the art of book printing in Russia, he supported new beginnings in this area, the publication of experimental artistic publications, which are still considered a model of taste and quality. A number of landmark book and art exhibitions took place with his participation. It is no coincidence that he accepted an invitation to join the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Emperor Peter the Great (hereinafter - MAE) at the Imperial Academy of Sciences (hereinafter - IAN) and became one of its most active members in the period 1911-1917.
Creation of production. The founder of the dynasty of typographers, the St. Petersburg German Franz Joseph (Osip) Ivanovich Lehman (1833 - March 2, 1873), opened in 1854 the “Writing Establishment of O.I. Leman”, which was considered the oldest and best type foundry in Russia. He improved the process of font casting (in 1859 - machine casting, 1863 - galvanic, 1865 - stereotypical), introduced the French font system in Russia, and invented an elegant Russian font. In 1870, he received the right to depict the Russian state coat of arms on his works. Every year he produced 4 thousand pounds of fonts, 2/3 of them on orders from state and private printing houses. Continuing the work of their father, his heirs in 1887 established the Faith Partnership “O.I. Lehman." I.I. Since 1889, Leman became a co-owner of a foundry under the company O.I. Lehman." In 1896, he reorganized it into the joint-stock company Slovolitnya O.I. Leman." It included a plant that turned into the largest printing enterprise in Russia (along with a branch of the Berlin company "Berthold and Co."). The company began to engage in the trade of printing machines, printing paper, and the installation of printing houses. In 1919, production was nationalized, but still exists.
Award to I.I. Leman received the title of Commerce Advisor. On March 4, 1904, the Commission for Technical Education of the Imperial Russian Technical Society petitioned Vasily Ivanovich Timiryazev, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, to recognize the merits of I.I. Leman: “This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the existence of the O.I. Leman Slovolitnya company.” If Your Excellency found it possible to present on this occasion the head of the company, hereditary honorary citizen (inscribed - “personal nobleman”) Joseph Iosifovich Leman, for the Highest Award, then I would most humbly ask you to take into account the following works of him as a public figure: I. AND. Leman, being the founder of the Printing School of the Imperial Russian Technical Society since 1887, serves as a free member of the Council and treasurer of the school. The last duty requires especially a lot of trouble and special love for the work, since the treasurer annually needs to collect foundation fees in the amount of more than 3,000 rubles, and the foundation fee is defined by the school charter at 50-100 rubles. In 1888 I.I. Leman took part in organizing the exhibition and library at the 1st Congress of Russian Figures on Technical and Vocational Education and at the same time compiled the first “Catalogue of Books on Technical and Vocational Education” in Russian. In 1889, as an employee of E.N. Andreeva I.I. Leman took part in the organization of the Russian department of the World Exhibition in Paris and in the work of the jury of this exhibition in class IX (printing). In 1895 I.I. Leman took an active part in organizing the 1st All-Russian Printing Exhibition as a fellow chairman of the Administrative Committee. In 1897 I.I. Leman, on behalf of the Imperial Russian Technical Society, participated in the work of the Expert Commission on the Printing Department at the exhibition in Stockholm. In 1899 I.I. Leman took part in the establishment of the Russian Society of Printing Workers, where he is still a member of the Council, deputy chairman and member of the Statistical-Bibliographical Commission. In 1901 I.I. Leman undertook the publication of the magazine "Printing Art", the only socio-technical illustrative publication in Russia on printing, which had the goal of influencing the development of our artistic tastes in this important branch of industry. As editor-publisher of the magazine "Printing Art" I.I. During the two years of publishing the magazine, Leman put a lot of work and knowledge into this beloved business. Taking into account such versatile activities of I. I. Leman, if Your Excellency considered it possible to ask him as a reward for the title of Commerce Advisor, then such an award, as I know, would most satisfy Mr. Leman.” In 1904, with the “highest award”, a whole group of leading Russian entrepreneurs received noble status. Representations for “persons of the trading class carrying out activities in the field of trade and industry” were prepared by the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Trade and Industry and other ministers. In 1904 I.I. Lehman turned 37 years old. There were no obstacles to his awarding. Answering the questionnaire, I.I. Leman wrote that he was of the Lutheran faith, was not under trial or investigation, and had awards: Large gold medal on the Vladimir Ribbon (1888), Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class. (1895), Order of St. Anne, 3rd class. (1898) by the Ministry of Finance for the production of typographic font and the Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class. (August 10, 1901) by the Imperial Russian Technical Society through the Office of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich4. Turnover of JSC Slovolitnya O.I. Leman", the chairman of the board of which was I.I. Leman, according to the report for 1902, the amount was determined at 1,394,000 rubles. The Decree of His Imperial Majesty to the Governing Senate read: “According to the testimony of the Ministry of Trade and Industry about useful activities in the field of domestic trade and industry, the personal nobleman Joseph Iosifovich Leman is granted advisors in commerce. Nikolai. Tsarskoye Selo. January 1, 1906.”6 The decree was published in the prescribed manner on February 28, 1906. According to certificate dated April 25, 1913 No. 8309, I.I. Leman, by a personal decree of His Majesty the Emperor, was awarded the title of commerce advisor, and the due stamp duty was paid. Joint Stock Company “Slovolitnya O.I. Leman." In 1870 and 1896 Lehmann's foundry was awarded the State Emblem and, in 1895, the title of supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty. On July 24, 1895, work began to establish the foundry joint-stock company “O.I. Leman in St. Petersburg." Founders:
“1) St. Petersburg 2nd guild merchant Joseph Iosifovich Leman, 29 years old. St. Petersburg 2nd Guild merchant, personal Honorary Citizen Fedor (Theodor) Andreevich Hartman, 54 years old. Retired second lieutenant temporary St. Petersburg 2nd guild merchant Pyotr Aleksandrovich Mikhailov, 49 years old.
2) They behaved well, they were not noticed in reprehensible actions, they were not subjected to trial or investigation.
3) They are fellow co-owners of the company “Slovolitnya O.I. Leman” (Gorokhovaya, 49). I. Leman in 4/8 parts, Fyodor Hartman - 1/2 parts, Pyotr Mikhailov - 1/2 parts. Leman has capital deposited in the State Bank. There is no real estate.
4) They do not receive permanent maintenance or pensions from the treasury.
5) The Leman family consists of his wife Maria Fedorovna, 25 years old, sons Boris, 4 years old, Dmitry, 2.5 years old, living with him. Garman's family: wife Sofya Andreevna, 44 years old, son Rudolf, 26 years old (now in Moscow serving in the office of Siemens and Halske), daughters Maria, 25 years old (married), Alisa, 15 years old (Khitrova boarding house). Mikhailov family: wife Charlotte Ivanovna 40 years old, sons - Mikhail 19 years old, Nikolay 16 years old, Vladimir 14 years old, Alexander 11 years old, Georgy 3 years old, Leonid 2 years old, daughters - Maria 20 years old, Raisa 12 years old, Vera 10 years old, Lyudmila 7 years. All children are with their parents and exist at their expense.
6) Leman, Hartman and Mikhailov - fellow co-owners of the company "Slovolitnya O.I. Leman", receive a salary as active workers in the said company in the amount of 400 rubles. per month each and about 4000 rubles. per year % of income from the enterprise (Hartmann and Mikhailov) and 16,000 rubles. -% of Lehman’s income.”
The company was located in the Spasskaya part of St. Petersburg (3rd section, at 49 Gorokhovaya Street); it included a foundry, galvanoplastic, stereotyping, engraving, woodcut, photozinc, copper-ruling, mechanical and carpentry workshops. The company traded in typographic printing machines, gas, electric, steam engines, printing paper and embossing supplies; was engaged in the arrangement and maintenance of printing houses. The company's fixed capital was 800 thousand rubles, divided into 3,200 registered shares of 250 rubles each. each, payable within 6 months. from the date of publication of the Charter. On November 23, 1897, the first General Meeting of Shareholders elected I.I. as members of the board. Leman (440 shares worth 110 thousand rubles), T.A. Hartman (280 shares worth 70 thousand rubles), P.A. Mikhailov (280 shares worth 70 thousand rubles) and German Karlovich Witte (108 shares worth 27 thousand rubles). Among the main shareholders were M.F. Leman, V.I. Leman, N.I. Leman, K.I. Leman, P.P. Leman. Foundry buildings O.I. Leman and warehouses in the yard (49 Gorokhovaya Street) in 1890-1891. rebuilt and expanded by architect L.P. Andreev, in 1905-1906. - V.A. Kozlovsky and I.P. Makarov. According to one of the latest projects for the reconstruction of Gorokhovaya Street, it was proposed to demolish several historical buildings - No. 49 and the courtyard wings of house No. 47 - and build a shopping and hotel complex there. In 1899, the company bought a plot of land for a type foundry at 20 Zvenigorodskaya Street, which belonged to the clergy of the Volkov Edinoverie Church; Later, the site at 82 Nikolaevskaya Street (Marata St., 82) was added to the plant. By January 1, 1900, the founders had fully raised capital13. In 1899-1900 a building was erected according to the design of the architect-artist Alexei Georgievich Erenberg (in the Art Nouveau style). The board of the society was located there. In this house, on April 3/16, 1905, the first workers' trade union in Russia was founded - the Union of Printing Workers. The enterprise was profitable. The company's fixed capital as of May 7, 1915 was 1,350,000 rubles. (5400 shares at 250 rubles each). 84.3% belonged to Russian subjects, 15.7% to German ones14. They brought dividends in 1911-1913. 11 rub. per share annually, in 1914 - 6 rubles. The balance as of January 1, 1916 was 2,873,957 rubles, the value of the property was 1,268,867 rubles. The composition of the enterprise: foundry and workshops: galvanoplastic, stereotypy, engraving, woodcut, photozincography, copper foundry, mechanical and carpentry in Petrograd. The company had a branch in Moscow, warehouses in Odessa, Rostov-on-Don, Vilno, Riga, Saratov, Kyiv. Production: fonts, printing materials, copper rulers, sale of printing machines and embossing accessories. By decree of the Supreme Economic Council of June 27, 1918, the enterprise was nationalized and transferred to the jurisdiction of the printing section of the Economic Council of the Northern District of Petrograd under the name 1st State Foundry, from 1924 - named after. III International (then the plant came under the control of the Leningrad branch of the Polygraph trust of the Supreme Economic Council of the RSFSR). In 1930, the type foundry came under the jurisdiction of the All-Russian Association of the Printing Industry; Here fonts were created for peoples who previously did not have a written language.
I.I. Lehman is a bibliophile and philanthropist. Unique fonts “Slovolitni O.I. Leman" were famous. They published reviews of the First All-Russian Printing Exhibition in St. Petersburg (1895), and the exhibition catalog was published under the editorship of I.I. Leman. In 1900, at the World Exhibition in Paris, samples of the works of “Slovolitni O.I. Leman" and the printing house of A. Marx received the Grand Prix. Later I.I. Lehmann edited the catalog of the Russian department at the Exhibition of Printing and Graphics in Leipzig (1914). In October 1901-1902. I.I. Leman was the publisher and editor of the Printing Art magazine, the first Russian publication dedicated to graphic design, which determined the development of domestic typefaces. (The topic was developed by the magazine “Printing Production.”) In 1903, I.I. Leman initiated the Circle of Lovers of Russian Fine Publications in St. Petersburg, uniting St. Petersburg bibliophiles and art lovers, collectors, and became its treasurer. The fundamental publication of the Engraving and Lithography circle has not lost its significance to this day. Like other bibliophiles, I.I. Lehman provided exhibits from his collection for publications. When the magazine “Old Years” was organized in St. Petersburg in 1906, I.I. Leman became a member of its Editorial Committee (however, all its members participated in the meetings of the circle). The Lehman foundries created the fonts that were used to print many Russian newspapers; magazine “Old Years” (1907-1916), “History of Russian Art” by I.E. Grabar (1909-1917) and others. Director V.V. Radlov in 1917, “concerned about replenishing the Library at the Gallery of Emperor Peter I with publications relating to the personality and era of the Great Transformer of Russia, had the honor to ask the Circle of Lovers of Rare Fine Editions not to refuse to send 1 copy. of its publication: I.I. Leman. "Engraving and lithography" (1913)." The Society for Mutual Credit for Printing Workers was founded in St. Petersburg in 1904. The board issued loans at a low interest rate for goods related to printing, as well as paper and printed publications - books, newspapers, magazines, postcards, etc. This type credit has helped many small and medium-sized printing houses survive and develop their capabilities. I.I. Leman was a friend of the chairman of the board of this society, and the MAE Board of Trustees had a paybook there since 1911 (Ekaterininsky Canal, no. 14); the other part of the funds of the MAE Board of Trustees was in the Volzhsko-Kama Bank. On September 21, 1915, a public celebration of Grigory Nikolaevich Potanin took place on the premises of the Central Bank of the Mutual Credit Society (Nevsky, 15, entrance from Moika) on the occasion of his 80th birthday. The event was organized by the Society for the Study of Siberia and the Improvement of Its Life, with the participation of the Siberian Society for Providing Aid to Sick and Wounded Soldiers and War Victims, the Society for Assistance to Siberian Students in Petrograd and the Petrograd Siberian Assembly. Admission to the celebration was free. The chairman of the board of the society, based at the MAE, was the director of the MAE, academician V.V. Radlov.
I.I. Leman is an honorary member of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Emperor Peter the Great. The MAE Board of Trustees was created in 1909.20 Some aspects of its work are known thanks to reports that, at the suggestion of V.V. Radlov began to be published in the Appendix to the protocols of the IAN and in the Izvestia of the Academy. February 9, 1911 Commerce Advisor I.I. was approved as honorary members of the MAE Board of Trustees. Lehmann and the German scientist and traveler Hermann Meyer (Leipzig). In 1911, the Board of Trustees met six times, and the monetary report for 1910 was checked. Thanks to the efforts of the honorary members of the Board, a total of 9,500 rubles were received for the collections and expenses of the MAE in 1911. In 1912, five meetings of the Council were held, and on March 23, 1913, an audit of the monetary books of the Council's amounts was carried out. In 1913, the MAE Board of Trustees met 5 times, in 1914 - 3 times, in 1915 and 1916. - 2 times. Back in November 1910, the Czech traveler A.V. Fritsch to South America I.I. Leman transferred 1000 rubles, for which the MAE expressed gratitude to him. Returning to Europe, A.V. Fritsch, on behalf of the MAE, was engaged in the registration of his South American objects, which were delivered to the Museum in March 1913. Funded by I.I. Leman purchased 111 items: No. 1976 - household and religious items of the Chamacoco tribe from Northern Chaco, 42 Ave.; No. 1977 - household and religious objects of the Tumrakha tribe, 33 Ave.; No. 1978 - weapons, military supplies, household and religious items of the Morotoko tribe, 17 Ave.; No. 1979 - weapons and household items of the Chiriguano tribe from Bolivia, 11 ave.; No. 1980 - household and religious objects of the Shuankuru tribe from Mato Grosso, 8 Ave. With the active participation of I.I. Leman and F.Yu. Shotlender, an album was prepared to present to Emperor Nicholas II on the occasion of his visit to the MAE on March 5, 1914.25 In 1914, in the list of awards requested for especially useful activities at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after Emperor Peter the Great, I.I. Leman was included under No. 4. The honorary chairman of the Board of Trustees, Prince Alexander Georgievich Romanovsky, Duke of Leuchgenberg, petitioned to be awarded the rank of state councilor: “Joseph Iosifovich Leman, a personal nobleman, commerce councilor, does not have the rank. Religion is Lutheran. Awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd class. (1895), St. Anne 3rd Art. (1898), St. Stanislaus 2nd Art. (1901) on the proposal of the Imperial Russian Technical Society. 1904 - personal nobility on the proposal of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. 1906 - title of Commerce Advisor (Ministry of Trade and Industry). 1907 - Order of St. Anne, 2nd class. (according to the Ministry of Finance), 1914 - St. Vladimir 4th Art. (by the Ministry of Trade and Industry). Member of the Board of Trustees since February 2, 1911.” At the presentation of the note: “There is no deadline between awards, the rank of state councilor is possible only as an exception to the rules.”
War time. In 1914 JSC Slovolitnya O.I. Leman" in Petrograd underwent major changes due to the introduction of bans on trade with Germany and the presence of foreign shareholders. Until July 20, 1914, the members of the board were Leman I.I., Mikhailov P.A., Erlenbach Sigismund Semenovich (a Bavarian subject who lived in the Penza province), Erlenbach Alfred Sigismundovich (a Bavarian subject, St. Petersburg), candidates - Berezin Petr Vladimirovich (transport engineer), Leman Boris Iosifovich (hereditary Honorary Citizen). On October 11, 1914, the Erlenbachs were removed from office and were considered retired from the board on September 18, 1914; Boris Fedorovich Budewitz (personal Honorary Citizen) became a member of the board. S. and A. Erlenbach acquired foundry equipment in Petrograd as the “Erlenbach Brothers”. The certificate stated that “the Society was founded in 1897 by Russian subjects, and 85% of the shares were in the hands of Russian subjects.” Among the shareholders were Russian, French, British, Italian, Bavarian, and German citizens. In 1914, shareholders Leman Natalya Iosifovna (Moscow) and Nikolai Iosifovich (Helsingfors) filed a petition to transfer to Russian citizenship. In 1915, the joint stock company had 5,400 shares at 250 rubles. each. In 1915-1916 enterprises I.I. Leman carried out orders from the Central Military-Industrial Committee - they produced grenades for rifle mortars with remote tubes, ignition tubes for hand grenades, and iron cases for rifle cartridges. During the difficult years of the First World War, I.I. Lehman did not stop supporting the MAE. March 28, 1915 V.V. Radlov again resorted to his help: “Dear Sovereign Joseph Iosifovich, currently, due to wartime, the Museum is in very difficult circumstances due to a number of scientific enterprises, some previously started, some newly undertaken. Therefore, I allow myself to address you as an Honorary Member of the Board of Trustees at the moment...” Members of the Board of Trustees were looking for opportunities to help the Museum - funds were needed to pay salaries to employees, maintain expeditions sent to the field, and purchase materials. It was possible to stockpile about 6 thousand pounds of coal, which helped preserve museum exhibits during the cold time of devastation. On January 27, 1916, the board of the Imperial Academy of Sciences agreed to supply fuel for the MAE “through the Board of Trustees at a price not exceeding 1 ruble. 40 kopecks for a pound of the best Donetsk coal, an order has been made to hire a stoker to fire the Museum’s furnaces.” In response to the letter, the Minister of Navy, His Excellency I.K. On February 3, 1916, Grigorovich authorized the release of 5 thousand pounds of coal from the warehouses of the Petrograd port to the MAE for a fee, so that the coal would be removed using the funds and orders of the Museum. On February 6, 1916, the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty agreed to cede 1,000 poods of anthracite to the MAE, and the Minister of the Navy - 5,000 poods at 40 kopecks. without delivery. On May 18, 1916, honorary members of B.A. Ignatiev and I.I. Leman conducted an audit of the funds and books of the Board of Trustees. November 24, 1916 to trustees E.L. Nobel, B.M. The following letter was sent to Ignatiev, Baron von der Osten-Driesen: “Dear [name], at the last meeting of the Council, which, unfortunately, you were not able to attend, due to my report on the acute situation of the issue of voluntary salaries for civilian employees in connection with with increasing high costs, as well as financial support for expeditions begun before the war in remote places, the Council, at the suggestion of I.I. Leman, decided to make a circular proposal to cover the missing amount of 55 thousand rubles. subscription among the Honorary Members of the Board of Trustees and bring this to the attention of the absent honorary members of the Board, which I have the honor to inform you of, along with a copy of the minutes attached. V.V. Radlov." By that time, some trustees had left Petrograd and left Russia altogether; the position of those who remained was no longer stable. December 2, 1916 and January 25, 1917 V.V. Radlov addressed the Office of the Chairman of the Special Meeting on Food for the City of Petrograd and its Region with a request “to provide sugar for the meetings of the members of the Board of Trustees in the amount of 10 people; tea for the office hours of MAE employees (daily - 24 people).”
I.I. Leman and Peter the Great Gallery. At the MAE, a special commemorative department “Gallery of Peter the Great” was created; exhibits for it had been collected since 1909. Since these objects were the property of His Imperial Majesty, the Sovereign Emperor personally ordered on March 1, 1914, based on the report of the Duke of Leuchtenberg, that “all changes must go back to through the Minister of the Court at the Imperial discretion, and museum objects cannot be issued for use outside the walls of the Museum.” On September 21, 1916, the issue of sending Korins’s manuscript “Small Grammar” to the Moscow and Rumyantsev museums was decided. The commission chaired by V.V. Radlov included representatives of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, museum staff (Head of the Gallery E.K. Pekarsky) and the Board of Trustees (I.I. Leman): “Dear Sovereign Joseph Iosifovich, In pursuance of the determination of the Historical and Philological Department of the Institute of Academy of Sciences dated September 21, 1916 d. I have the honor to ask you to assume the duties of a member of the Museum, in accordance with the rescript addressed to me by the August Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Highest Will, the Commission for developing rules regarding the release, storage and replenishment of the Gallery of Emperor Peter I; as well as periodic revisions of the items contained in it.” On January 25, 1917, “representatives from the Ministry of the Imperial Court were appointed to the Commission on the Gallery of Peter I - the curator of the museums of the Imperial Academy of Arts Emilius Wiesel and the curator of the Imperial Hermitage Sergei Troinitsky.” Like I.I. Leman, Troinitsky was a member of the Circle of Lovers of Russian Fine Publications and the editorial board of the magazine “Old Years”. The commission meeting took place on February 17, 1917 at the MAE. After the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne, V.V. Radlov proposed on March 8, 1917, due to the need to revise the collection, to temporarily close the Peter the Great Gallery to visitors40. After this date, information about the further fate of I.I. Leman is not available. Contribution of I.I. Leman in the development of the MAE was very significant: he allocated funds for the purchase of collections, maintained the accounts of the Board of Trustees, facilitated the receipt of funds from the Mutual Credit Society for Printing Workers, helped in organizing important events, and contributed to the printing of gift editions and albums.
Engraving- the youngest of the types of fine art. If the origin of painting, sculpture, drawing, architecture is lost in prehistoric eras, then we more or less accurately know the time of the appearance of engraving - this is the turn of the 14th - 15th centuries (in the East, in China, engraving appeared much earlier, in the 8th century, but there it remained a local phenomenon that did not extend beyond the borders of this country). And although the main types of engraving have their own technological prototypes that existed in more early times (for woodcuts these are stamps and prints, for engravings this is the craft of goldsmiths, for etching - the workshops of gunsmiths), but engraving in the true sense of the word, as an imprint on paper of an image carved on a special board, appears only at this time . This historically exceptional phenomenon, the birth of a completely new type of art, was determined by several reasons - technological, aesthetic, social. In order for engraving to develop, there first had to be a suitable and easily accessible material on which engraving could be printed. There are cases in history when engravings were printed on parchment, on satin, on silk, on linen, but all these materials are either unsuitable for printing or expensive. Only with the widespread use of paper did engraving acquire the basis of its technology, a pliable, cheap material that easily accepts various types of images. And paper, which began to be produced in Europe in the 12th century, became common by the end of the 14th century. This coincided with the collapse of the medieval highly synthetic type of art. By the 15th century, in the fine arts there was an increasing desire for a more visually accurate reflection of nature, and interest in a scientific perspective; Secular, worldly themes are increasingly attracting artists. And fine art, in a sense, is polarized: the tendencies of naturalness, visual accuracy and persuasiveness are developed primarily by painting, and the newly appeared engraving takes on the qualities of symbolism and abstraction. In medieval art, these properties were integral to naturalistic features, but with the departure of naturalism mainly into painting, they required new ways of embodiment. Finally, with the Renaissance, stable, often even static, human communities began to move. Previously content with altar images in local churches and sculptural decorations in city cathedrals, people of the new era strive to have images of local and personal saints that not only hang on the walls of their homes, but can also accompany them on travel and business trips. And this goal was best served by cheap and portable engraving. Engraving has a special property that distinguishes it to the greatest extent from all other types of fine art. This property is circulation. By its very definition - a print made from a specially treated wooden, metal or stone board - an engraving always exists in several, and often in many, copies. The question is often asked: does this not deprive the engraving of its originality, does this allow it to be considered among the main types of fine art, does this not reduce it to the level of reproduction? Here we must first of all note that the imprint on paper is the goal of the engraver’s entire creative process; the engraving board itself plays a role comparable to materials and tools in painting, nothing more. From its very inception, engraving began to speak a special language and began to use specific means that sharply distinguish it from drawing and painting. And even in those frequent cases in certain eras when an engraving reproduces the pictorial composition of another artist, it does not simply reproduce it, but, as it were, translates it into its own, completely different language, a language not of color, but of tonality, not of strokes, but of lines and dots ; even a reproduction engraving is always, to use Pushkin’s word, a “re-expression” of a pictorial prototype. In addition, it should perhaps be recalled that in other forms of art, a work does not always exist in a single copy: exhibited, say, in the A.S. Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin's sculpture "The Thinker" by O. Rodin is also in some other museums, and all its casts are equally original. With even greater justification, an analogy can be drawn with some remarkable work of book art: just because the book came out, for example, from the printing press of Aldus Manutius or from the hands of Henri Matisse in several hundred copies, it has lost nothing in its artistry. The emergence of a replicable form of art had enormous cultural significance. Before engraving was born, people had no other way to report a phenomenon, an object or device, an unusual appearance or the character of a place, except to describe it all in words, no matter how vague the verbal description. Engraving made it possible to use a visual image, and its inherent circulation property made it possible to widely disseminate such an image. In the second half of the 15th century, books appeared with illustrations showing various tools or devices solar system , the specifics of certain plants, types of cities. Engraving gave humanity concrete knowledge and an idea of the world. And this continued until the mid-19th century, when photography and photomechanics appeared, replacing engraving in this sense. Let us recall one, perhaps private, but very significant shade of this phenomenon. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, when in art the individuality of expression, the personal style of the artist, and the uniqueness of stylistic features began to be especially valued, from that time on it became customary to treat with some contempt a reproduction engraving that reproduces the original of another artist, whereas before that, for several centuries , such an engraving was valued by experts no less than an original engraving made by the master from his own drawing. But until the end of the 19th century, all the knowledge about works of world art was given to both artists and ordinary amateurs by engraving. Few people could travel to all the museums in Europe and get acquainted with the originals: engraving turned out to be a way for artists to communicate with each other. When the young Rembrandt was advised to go to Italy, he replied that one could get acquainted with Italian art in Holland: he meant engraving. During his lifetime, Rubens was known in all European countries, primarily because he had a workshop of engravers who reproduced his paintings. Ancient art, known in originals until the 19th century only in Italy, was known to all European masters from engraved images. It should also be noted the social aspect of circulation engraving. In moments of social upsurge, class unrest, religious uprisings and political revolutions, it was engraving that took on a propaganda role. Given the almost universal illiteracy of the lower classes, the engraved image, distributed in hundreds and thousands of leaflets, appeals, portraits, and satirical pictures, was a kind of fermentative ferment for such social movements. It is enough to name at least leaflets from the time of the Peasant War in Germany at the beginning of the 16th century, or engravings from the era of the English bourgeois revolution, or caricatures from the era of the Great French Revolution of the 18th century, or, finally, Russian folk pictures from the time of the Patriotic War of 1812. And this was possible precisely due to the circulation of the engraving. But when we mean purely artistic engraving, the fact that each work exists in several copies and that people in different parts of the world can see it at the same time, perhaps only adds to the merits of this type of art. While losing in rarity and uniqueness, the engraving gains in democracy; it seems to come towards the viewer halfway. In addition, the absolute identity of all prints from the same board is to a large extent a fiction, an accepted convention. The boards are erased during printing, and the prints begin to differ in color saturation and overall tonality. Often engravers print prints from the same board with different paints, or even achieving different effects, as Rembrandt did. And when we look at several copies of one engraving at the same time, they are most likely perceived by us as slight variations of the same image, and this seems to give them an additional dimension, a kind of figurative volume. But circulation is only one of the properties of engraving. Engraving is a special type of fine art and it has its own language, its own aesthetics, its own capabilities, different from other types of art. And to a very large extent this originality of engraving is determined by its technological side. There are a huge number of types, subspecies, and varieties of techniques in engraving. They are born in certain eras, often die off after a few decades, and are reborn transformed at another time. And all this diversity is intended to expand the expressive capabilities of engraving, to enrich its language. After all, engraving, in principle, has a much more limited range of means than, say, painting: line and tonal spot - only these elements underlie each engraving sheet. And the emergence of each new technique gives birth to a new shade in the use of these constant elements. But in their totality, engraving techniques are extremely expressive. Moreover, each of them has its own special capabilities. If we try to very briefly define some of them, then these differences, these specifics can be reduced to the following. Chisel engraving is characterized by great physical stress on the part of the master during work: a steel gravel with force overcomes the resistance of the metal plate. Saving effort forces the engraver to strive for the strictest discipline of shading, to use systems of parallel lines that seem to hatch and shade the plasticity of the depicted figures. But in addition to the completeness and precision of the form, the physical tension itself during work seems to transform into the plastic tension of the image. And as a result, the very manner of engraving, the technology itself determines and limits the figurative specificity of engraving: it always strives to create an image characterized by physical activity, plastic energy, the image of an active person. This is probably why the highest achievements of engraving date back to the Renaissance (A. Mantegna, A. Dürer). The very character of Renaissance art is close to this understanding of the image of man. Etching, which appeared somewhat later, is, from a technological point of view, polar opposite to the chisel. An etching needle scratches a thin film of varnish with extreme ease, which itself provokes the artist to achieve maximum mobility and freedom of line. The etcher can work with equal ease with long flowing strokes and short strokes of the needle, he has at his disposal repeated etching, creating a wide scale of tonality, he can always make changes and corrections to the drawing in the process of work. That is why in etching there is an interest in the light-air environment, which is conveyed by the range of tonality, and in the mobility of characteristics, which is associated with some uncertainty and fluency of plasticity. The image characteristic of etching is always in the making, in the process. It may not be physically complete, but it is dynamic and psychologically deep. And this technological difference between the cutter and etching determines the difference between their typical genres and completely different areas of application. Chisel engraving is characterized by a subject composition or a representative portrait. For etching - landscape, psychological scene, intimate portrait, instant sketch. If the chisel is internally close to the sculptural relief, then the aesthetics of the etching is akin to a drawing. A master woodcut engraver cuts along the board with a longitudinal cut, trimming each line with a knife on both sides. The entire image consists of black lines and spots that contrast as much as possible with the white paper. This sonorous juxtaposition of black and white already determines in advance the greater decorativeness of the cut engraving, and the contrasts of black and white planes, especially when working white on black, create emotional stress . Finally, lithography is extremely neutral in relation to the work of the master: you can draw on stone with the same ease as on paper - with a pencil, ink, scratch, ink, etc. And yet, lithography is not just a way to replicate a design. The completely different nature of lithographic paint, very dense and saturated, the work with a scraper, which allows you to create a moving white line, the ability to reduce the tone to nothing - all this creates very rich opportunities for conveying the dynamics of light, for expressing a romantic beginning, for creating a special, picturesque tonality. Using these few examples, we wanted to show that the expressive capabilities of each technique, its language and its aesthetics in engraving are always determined by the technology, the very method of processing the board. And this explains why the history of engraving includes such a large number of different techniques. In different periods, due to the basic, dominant figurative properties and stylistic qualities of the fine arts of the era, one or another (sometimes several at the same time) engraving technique develops most strongly. In the 15th century - the first century of the existence of engraving, two main engraving techniques existed in a happy balance: burin and cut woodcut. There is almost no competition between them. Woodcut, with all its plastic language, is still closely connected with the art of the Middle Ages, while the chisel embodies, first of all, new, Renaissance trends. Both of these techniques had different consumers. If woodcut was intended mainly for the lower strata of the population (which determined its cheapness, religious themes and decorative expressive language), then chisel engraving appealed to the educated strata, with their interest in scientific, humanistic themes. Since the middle of the 15th century, these techniques have been separated in another plane: woodcuts are almost entirely included in the book, while engravings receive an independent, non-applied purpose. One more difference between these techniques can be noted. In Italy it is mainly the chisel that develops, in the north it is mainly woodcut. The sixteenth century is the century of engraving. In the first third of the century, woodcut plays a very significant role (especially in Germany), although it was in this century that etching and chiaroscuro were born, but all the largest engraving masters worked in the chisel - from A. Dürer, Luke of Leiden and J. Duve to H. Goltzius. The cutting technique turns out to be so authoritative that it forces both woodcut and etching to imitate its language. And this, ultimately, kills woodcuts and forces etching to lurk in a few painters’ workshops. But in the 17th century, it was etching that received all the opportunities to flourish. The general features of the art of this time: interest in the environment and understanding of man as an element of this environment, the experience of space, the rhythmic unity of light and shadow, a sense of the diversity of the human personality - all this was most naturally expressed in etching. And the century produced many outstanding masters of etching technology: A. Van Dyck, J. Callot, C. Lorrain, G. Seghers, Rembrandt - and these are only the most significant names. Engraving continues to exist, it even becomes the most respected technique, but, with the exception of the representative portrait (the genre that gave rise to such masters as K. Mellan, R. Nanteuil, J. Edelinck), it develops almost entirely as a reproduction technique. It was precisely this aspect of engraving that was established in the 18th century. At this time, it was impossible to single out any one technique: more and more new types of engraving appeared - mezzotint, aquatint, dotted line, lavis, pencil style. All of them developed exclusively as reproduction techniques, just like the traditional chisel. Engraving began to recognize itself as a secondary “small art”, only reflecting the brilliance and achievements of modern painting and drawing. It is no coincidence that so many famous engravers went into book illustration: engraving became a type of applied art. But at the same time, the geography of engraving has expanded greatly. Significant national schools appeared in England and Russia, but even there they were mainly schools of reproduction engraving. Only in Italy do two of the greatest masters of creative engraving work - the masters of etching J.-B. Piranesi and J.-B. Tiepolo. Only at the very end of the 18th century, as if in the harbinger of a new era, two more outstanding artists turned to engraving - F. Goya and W. Blake, who worked already in the next century. For 19th-century engraving, the invention of photomechanics played a huge role. She killed the reproduction engraving and made it an anachronism. But creative engraving is experiencing a new flowering. Let us recall that the best, leading masters of this type of art in the last century were the greatest painters E. Delacroix, E. Manet, E. Degas, C. Pissarro, J. Whistler, P. Gauguin, E. Munch, V. Serov. Very young lithography and etching, which had not yet exhausted its creative potential, became the leading techniques of the century. By the 1830s, all refined techniques of reproduction engraving had virtually disappeared. But the 19th century gave birth to its own reproduction technique - end-grain woodcut, and it existed until the end of the century, when it died out, unable to withstand competition with increasingly sophisticated photomechanical processes. Our time is determined by the full flowering of all traditional and the emergence of many new engraving techniques. Previously unknown expressive possibilities were discovered in seemingly long-forgotten techniques - mezzotint, chiaroscuro, chisel. Most of the major artists of the 20th century work in different types engravings. Moreover, the engraving style itself began to have a strong influence on painting and drawing. What are the characteristic features of engraving as a whole as an art form? First of all, it should be noted that the engraving stands, as it were, between painting and drawing: it, as a painting, is necessarily intended for the viewer, but as a drawing, it enters into a special, I would like to say intimate, relationship with this viewer, arising from the fact that he holds it in his hands , looking at it, rather than standing at a distance in reverent contemplation, as is the case with painting. An engraving is an imprint of a flat board on a flat sheet of paper. And this flatness of the engraving is manifested in the nature of the engraving space, usually very shallow, sometimes divided into several plans, often not specific. After all, we can, after making a certain effort, imagine any picture (at least a picture painted before the 20th century) as some kind of really existing scene. This cannot happen with an engraving; it does not have the same measure of illusion that painting has; holding it in our hands, we see that it consists of lines and spots, quite conventional, that it is printed on a thin sheet of paper, that its edges, its light, its very space are the same paper. And this makes the engraving seem more like an image, a sign, a diagram, a hint of a phenomenon, than a specific image of it. When we look at an engraving, we seem to read it, stroke by stroke, line by line, which creates a certain temporal sequence of consideration, that is, a shade of narrative. This combination of the properties of abstraction and narration is a special, specific quality of engraving. Perhaps this is why it is so natural for an engraving to be included in a book as an illustration, why it is so natural for it to form a series connected by a single plot, like Callot or Hogarth, so hyperbolism is possible in it, like Goya, symbolism, like Redon, active metaphor, like by Toulouse-Lautrec, satire, like Daumier. In painting, all this is impossible precisely because it tends to be concrete, illusory, and visually persuasive; in drawing, however, it is difficult because of its excessive fluency, dynamism, and randomness. Of course, these are the most general signs of engraving, but they can be attributed to this entire art form.
Engraving (French graver - to cut) is a type of graphic art that allows you to make impressions from printing plates. These forms are made of metal, wood, plastic and other materials. The prints themselves are also called engravings.
There are various techniques and techniques for creating engravings. It is produced using intaglio, flat or letterpress printing, which differ from each other in the arrangement of the elements of the printed form compared to the white space elements. Thus, for intaglio printing plates they are concave, for letterpress printing they are raised, and for flat printing they are at the same level.
Next, we will look at the main techniques with which engravings have been made since ancient times. Almost all of them relate to metal engraving and intaglio printing. At the same time, some techniques use mechanical method engraving (dry point, mezzotint, burin, dotted line, pencil style), and in others they use chemical method(classical etching, aquatint, lavis, soft varnish, pencil style).
Chisel engraving is created using a special tool - a graver (German: Stichel - cutter). It requires high precision, great effort, and patience from the engraver and can take several weeks or even months.
Before work, the craftsman thoroughly polishes the metal plate, creates an image on it using a jewelry punch (sharp tool) and begins detailed processing of the design with a graver. Before printing, ink is rubbed into the plate, excess is removed and impressions are made.
Drypoint engraving is so called because it occurs without coating the surface of the plate with varnish and without etching (chemical engraving techniques are presented below).
For this technology, needles of different sizes, a scraper and a smoother are used. First, the metal plate is prepared for work: it is ground, polished, and the edges and corners are processed. Then the desired design is applied to the plate using a graphite pencil or a thin needle and the engraving process begins.
The nature of the final image depends on the type of needle chosen and the degree of pressure on the instrument. If the master presses the needle weakly, then a line with clean edges is obtained; with strong pressure, the edges of the lines become torn with notches and burrs (barbs) rising upward. During printing, the ink fills these recesses and accumulates at the barbs, resulting in a very rich and velvety image.
This technique involves applying a system of dots of different shapes and sizes to the engraving plate.
In the process of work, the master can use punches with ends of different sharpness and shape (in the form of a triangle, square, etc.), matuar and an engraving hammer. Using tools of different shapes, as well as different degrees of pressure, the engraver builds a whole system of various points. If necessary, it thickens or thins out the points, creating the effect of shadow or light. The result is an image with soft transitions. To make the contours of the design smoother, the artist can punch dots through the varnish.
In the mezzotint technique (from Italian Mezzo - half, tinto - painted), which is also called the black style or the English style, the work is done not with creating recesses in the prepared plate, but with smoothing certain areas. For this purpose, the metal plate is roughened using a graining technique. That is, initially there are already grooves on it, and the engraver’s task is to rub over those areas that should be lighter (the paint almost does not linger on smooth areas). He works with the image using a scraper and a smooth planer. Engraving is carried out from the blackest color to the brightest light (hence the name black manner), which is the opposite of other mechanical engraving techniques.
The name of this technique comes from the French word eau-forte, which translates as strong vodka (in the old days this was the name for nitric acid). It was nitric acid that was originally the main substance for creating etching.
With this technology, a metal plate is coated with an acid-resistant varnish. Then the design is applied and scratched with needles. After this, the master immerses the plate in a container with acid, which leads to etching of the design that is not covered with varnish. After washing and drying, the procedure is repeated several times, achieving deeper etching in individual areas. At the last stage, the protective varnish is removed with kerosene. The resulting printing form is filled with paint.
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