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Printing Plate

ca. 1903 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In drypoint, the design is incised – or rather drawn – into a metal plate using a needle. The burr brought up in the process is not burnished away but carries the ink along with the lines, resulting in soft lines of a rich, silky quality. The square in the lower left corner of the plate demonstrates the difference between leaving the burr on the plate (which is normal for drypoints) and burnishing it off. The impression taken from this plate shows how effective the burr is in creating shadows behind the group of soldiers, bringing them into relief. It also shows the drawn nature of the technique in the spontaneous outlines of the figure group.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Copper and drypoint
Brief description
Printing plate. Drypoint. Teaching example showing a group of soldiers, with a square demonstrating difference between burr left on plate and rubbed off.
Physical description
Copper printing plate demonstrating drypoint, depicting a group of cavalry soldiers, a man on one knee surrendering, and a corpse in the foreground, with a small square of hatching in the lower left corner marked to show printing with and without the burr.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.3cm
  • Width: 15.1cm
  • Depth: 1.5mm (approx)
Object history
Copper plate worked in dry-point, prepared in the Engraving School of the Royal College of Art by the Assistant Teacher, Miss C.M. Polt, RE, under the direction of Sir Frank Short and exhibited at the Exhibition of British Engraving and Etching at South Kensington in 1903.
Production
Part of a collection of printmaking materials prepared in the Engraving School of the Royal College of Art by the Assistant Teacher C. M. Pott, under the direction of Frank Short for the Loan Exhibition of British Engraving and Etching held at the V&A in 1903.
Subjects depicted
Summary
In drypoint, the design is incised – or rather drawn – into a metal plate using a needle. The burr brought up in the process is not burnished away but carries the ink along with the lines, resulting in soft lines of a rich, silky quality. The square in the lower left corner of the plate demonstrates the difference between leaving the burr on the plate (which is normal for drypoints) and burnishing it off. The impression taken from this plate shows how effective the burr is in creating shadows behind the group of soldiers, bringing them into relief. It also shows the drawn nature of the technique in the spontaneous outlines of the figure group.
Associated object
Collection
Accession number
E.5358:33-1903

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
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