Scratching the Surface: Exploring Space in Intaglio Prints

The transfer of engraved images, first in clay and stone, onto another surface is an art form with utilitarian origins dating back to ancient Mesopotamia. Over the millennia, Asian artists began to use wood for printmaking in an effort to transfer images onto fabrics. In ancient Greece and Rome, artists carved lines into metal for the decoration of armor and ritual objects, an artform that continued well into Medieval times. These developments paved the way for the German innovation of intaglio printing techniques in the 1430s. For the past six centuries, artists have practiced various forms of intaglio printmaking--principally engraving and etching.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.