810 
ENGRAVING. 
multiplied from fuch a variety of objedts, that nearly all 
neceflary information refpedting the form and conftrudirion 
of the remote!! and moll complicated things, may be ac¬ 
quired by their affiftance. 
From the facility with which copper-plate impreflions 
are multiplied, prints have derived an advantage over 
paintings by no means inconfiderable. They are found 
to be more durable ; which, however, muft be attributed 
to the different methods in which they are preferved. 
Many of the beft-paintings of the early matters have ge¬ 
nerally had the misfortune to be either painted on walls, 
or depolited in large and unfrequented, and confequently 
damp and deftrudtive, buildings; whilft a print, patting, 
at dittant intervals, from the port? feuillc of one collector 
to that of another, is preferved without any great exer¬ 
tion of its owner : and hence it happens, that whilft the 
pidtures of Raphael have mouldered front their walls, or 
defected their canvas, the prints of his friend and cotem¬ 
porary Mark Antonio Raimondi continue in full perfec¬ 
tion to this day, and give us a lively idea of the beauties 
of thofe paintings, which without their affiftance, had 
been loft to us for ever ; or at leaft, could have been only 
known to us, like thofe of Zeuxis and Apelles, by the 
defcriptions which former writers on thefe fubjedts have 
left us. Independent of the advantages which prints af- 
iord 11s, when confidered as accurate reprefentations of 
paintings, and imitations of fuperior productions, they 
are no lefs valuable for their pofitive merit, as immediate 
reprefentations of nature. For it muft be recolledted, 
that the art of engraving has not always been confined to 
the copying other productions, but has frequently itfelf 
afpired to originality, and'has, in this light, produced 
more inftances of its excellence than in the other. Albert 
Durer, Goltzius, and Rembrandt, among!! the Dutch 
and Germans ; Partnegiano and Della Bella among!! the 
Italians, and Callot among!! the French, have publiftted 
many prints, the fubjedts of which, there is great reafon 
to fuppofe, were never painted. Thefe prints may there¬ 
fore be confidered as original pidtures of thofe matters, 
deficient only in thofe particulars in which a print muft 
ever neceffarily be inferior to a painting. 
The art of engraving on copper appears comparatively 
to be only a modern invention, having had its,rife no ear¬ 
lier than about the commencement of the 15th century. 
The ancients, it is true, pradiifed engraving on precious 
ftones and cryftals, called gems, with very good fuccefs ; 
and there are ftill many of their works remaining equal 
to any production of the later ages. See the article 
Egypt, p. 374,of this volume. But the art of engraving 
on plates and blocks of wood, to afford prints or im- 
preftions, was not known till very long after the invention 
of painting in oil. 
The different modes of engraving are the following; 
In ftrokes cut through a thin wax, laid upon the copper, 
with a needle ; and thefe ftrokes bitten or corroded into 
the copper with aquafortis; called etching. In ftrokes 
with the graver alone, unaffifted by aquafortis. In this 
the defign is traced with a Iharp tool, called a dry point , 
upon the plate ; and the ftrokes are cut upon the copper 
with the inftrument called a graver. In ftrokes firft etch¬ 
ed, and afterwards finiftied with the graver : by this expe¬ 
dient the two former methods are united. In dots with¬ 
out ftrokes, which are executed with the point upon the 
wax or ground, bitten in with the aquafortis, and after¬ 
wards harmonized with the graver. In mezzotinto, which 
js performed by a dark ground being raifed uniformly 
upon the plate with a barbed tool. The defign being 
traced upon the plate, the light parts are fcraped off by 
inftruments for that purpofe, in proportion as the effeCt 
requires. In aquatinta, where the outline is firft etched, 
and afterwards a fort of wafti is laid by the aquafortis 
upon the plate, refembling drawings in Indian ink, &c. 
On wood, performed with a fingle block, on which the 
defign is traced with a pen, and,thofe parts which fliould 
be white carefully hollowed out; and this block fs after¬ 
wards printed by the letter-prefs printers, in the fame 
manner as they print a book. On wood, performed with 
two, three, or more, blocks ; the firft having the outlines 
cut upon it ; the fecond is referved for the darker !ha- 
dows ; and the third for the fhadows which terminate 
upon the lights ; and thefe are fubftituted in their turn, 
each print receiving an impreffion from every block. 
This mode of engraving is called chiarofcuro, and was de- 
figned to reprefent the drawings of the old matters. 
Of all thefe modes of engraving, for the purpofe of 
giving impreflions on paper, the raoft ancient is that on 
wood. It appears that we are indebted to the makers of 
playing cards for this invention, who pradtifed the art in 
Germany prior to the 15th century. From that time it 
continued in an improving ftate ; and towards the end of 
the 15th, and beginning of the 16th century, it became 
cuftomary for almoft every one of the German engravers 
on copper to engrave on wood alfo. The works of Al¬ 
bert Durer and Holbein, in this ftyle of engraving, are 
juftly held in the higheft efteem. Italy, France, and 
Holland, have produced many capital artifts of this kind ; 
but for boldnefs and fpirit, we muft prefer the prints of 
Chriftopher Jegher, who worked under the direction of 
Rubens, and was without doubt aflifted by that great 
matter. 
The invention of that fpecies of engraving diftinguifhed 
by the appellation of diiaro-Jburo , feems alfo to be juftly 
claimed by the Germans, and was firft pradtifed by Mail'; 
one of whofe prints of this kind is dated 1499. Many 
excellent works in chiaro-fcuro have been produced in 
France; and in Italy it was honoured with the perfor¬ 
mances of Titian and Partnegiano. To this invention of 
cutting or engraving blocks of wood, we are indebted for 
the devices and ornaments on paper-hangings, and printed 
cottons and chintz. 
In Germany, about the year 1450, prints from engrav¬ 
ed copper firft made their appearance. The earlieft date 
hitherto found on a copperplate print, is 1461 ; but how¬ 
ever faulty this print may be with refpedt to the drawing, 
or defedtive in point of tafte, the mechanical part of the 
execution of it has by no means the appearance of being 
one of the firjl productions of the graver. We have alfo 
feveral other engravings, evidently the work of the fame 
raafter ; in which the impreflions are fo neatly taken from 
the plates, and the engravings fo clearly printed in every 
part, that, according to all appearance, they could not be 
executed in a much better manner in the prefent day, with 
all the conveniences which the copperplate printers now 
polfefs, and the additional knowledge they muft necefla- 
rily have acquired in the courfe of more than three cen¬ 
turies. Hence we may fairly conclude, that if they were 
not the firft fpecimens of the engraver’s workmanfhip, 
they w'ere much lefs the firft efforts of the copper-plate 
printer’s ability. The earlieft prints that are known to 
be Italian, are a fet of the feven planets, and an almanack 
by w'ay of frontifpiece ; on which are directions for find¬ 
ing Eafter from the year 1465 to 1517 inclufive. The 
three earlieft Italian engravers are, Finiguerra, Boticelli, 
and Baldini. 
With refpedt to the invention of etching, it feems to be 
not well known to whom it is to be ascribed. One of 
the rnoft early fpecimens is of a print by Albert Dur-er, 
known by the name of the Cannon , dated 1518. Another 
etching by the fame artift is Mofes receiving the Tables 
of the Law, dated 1524. It was alfo pradtifed in Italy 
foon after this by Parmegiano, in whofe etchings we dis¬ 
cover the hand of the artift working out a fyftem as it 
were entirely from his own imagination. We fee plainly 
the difficulty he laboured under ; and cannot doubt, from 
the examination of the mechanical part of the execution, 
that he had no inftrudtion ; and that it was an operation 
quite new to him. As to that fpecies of engraving in 
which the etching and cutting with the graver are united, 
it muft have taken place immediately upon the invention 
of etching ; it was, however, firft carried to perfection by 
0 G. Audran, 
