A Treatise on Etching Part 7

68. =Flat Biting.--Several Points.=--When several points of different thickness are used, the coa.r.s.er serve for the foreground and near distances, the finer in gradual succession for the receding distances.

They are used alternately in the different distances, and the lines are drawn more closely together here, or kept farther apart there, according to the necessities of the effect to be obtained; the depth of the biting is the same throughout, but the difference in thickness of the lines makes it an easy matter, by more elaborate modelling, to give to the etching the appearance of a finished design.

With a single point, as well as with several, the pressure used in drawing must remain the same throughout, so that the acid may act simultaneously, and with equal intensity on all parts of the plate. If there has been any inequality of attack, the values will be unequal in their turn, and different from what they were intended to be.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate IV.]

69. =Biting with Stopping-out.--One Point.=--In biting with stopping-out, it is the biting itself, and not the needle, which gives modelling to the etching. In this case, also, one or several points may be used. The simplest manner is that in which only one point is used.

The stopping-out, and consequently the biting, is done in large ma.s.ses.

(See Pl. V. Fig. 1.)

70. =Biting with Stopping-out.--Several Points.=--As a very simple example let us take a case in which it is necessary to have certain very closely lined pa.s.sages in a foreground alongside of very coa.r.s.e ones.

In that case the first, or close, lines must be etched very delicately, while the whole force of the biting must be brought to bear on the latter (see Pl. IV. Fig. 2). In the same way the values of two different objects may be equilibrated; by employing close lines slightly bitten in the one case, and s.p.a.ced lines more deeply bitten in the other. Biting with stopping-out, combined with the work of several points, requires more attention and discernment than any other.

If the first biting is not successful, the plate is revarnished, and the work of repairing and correcting commences.

Summing up the advantages offered by these various means, you will see what results the combination of the work of one or of several points with partial biting may be made to yield, either in giving to objects their various values, their natural color, and their modelling, or in disposing them in s.p.a.ce, and thus producing the harmonious gradation of the several distances.

71. =Necessity of Experimenting.=--If you will now call to mind our preceding operations, and will hold them together with the explanations just given, you will be able to appreciate them in their totality. The necessity of arriving at truth of expression, with nothing to guide you but these rules, which are influenced by a variety of conditions, will compel you to experiment for yourself, with special reference to the combination of _the surrounding temperature, the strength of the acid, the number of partial bitings, the pressure of the point, the different thicknesses of the points_, and _the various kinds of work that can be done with them_, on the one hand; and on the other, with regard to _the length of the bitings_. If you are called upon to imitate a given object very closely, you must proceed rationally, and your work must be accompanied by continual reflection. To familiarize yourself with these delicate operations, you must experiment for yourself; don't complain if you spoil a few plates; you will learn something by your failures, as your experience in one case will teach you what to do in others.

Self-acquired experience is of all teachers the best.

72. =Various other Methods of Biting.=--The two preceding methods, which, in a general way, comprehend the rules of biting, do not exclude other particular methods of a similar nature. Thus, it may be well sometimes to etch at first only the simple outline, biting it in more or less vigorously, according to the nature of the case (see Pl. IV.

Fig. 3); and then, having revarnished and resmoked the plate, to elaborate the drawing by going over it either in some parts only or throughout the whole. Rembrandt often pursued this course; and we may follow the several stages of his work by studying the various states of his plates. We see that he took great pains to work out some part of his subject very carefully, without touching the other parts; he then took a proof, and afterwards went over the same part with finer lines, and pa.s.sed on to the other parts, treating them according to the effect which he desired to reach.

This method is often imitated; it is employed when it is necessary to lay a shadow over a pa.s.sage full of detail, as, for instance, in architectural subjects, in the execution of which it is easier, and tends to avoid confusion, to fix the lines of the design first, and then, having laid the ground a second time, to add the shadows. (See Pl.

IV. Fig. 4.)

"Pardon me! But might not this result be obtained by the same biting, if the lines of the design were drawn with a coa.r.s.e point, and the shading were added with a finer one?"

Certainly; and in that case we should have an instance of work executed with several needles, such as I pointed out to you before.

From the explanations previously given, it will be clear, also, that, the nature of the subject permitting, it may be advantageous sometimes to execute a plate by drawing and biting each distance by itself. Thus you may commence with the foreground, and may bite it in; having had a proof taken, revarnish your plate, and proceed in the same fashion to the execution of the other distances, and of the sky, always having a proof taken after each biting to serve you as a guide.

This mode of operation--essentially that of the engraver--is of special advantage in putting in a sky or a background behind complicated foliage. You can draw and bite your sky or your background all by itself (see Pl. IV. Fig. 5), and then, having revarnished your plate, you can execute your trees on the background. As the trees are bitten by themselves, it is evident that we have avoided a difficulty which is almost insurmountable,--that, namely, of stopping out with the brush the lines of the sky between intricate ma.s.ses of foliage. But we can also proceed differently. We can commence with the trees, drawing them and biting them in, and can finish with the sky, having revarnished the plate as usual: the sky will thus fall into its place behind the trees.

You need not trouble yourself because the lines of the sky pa.s.s across the lines of the trees. The biting of the sky must be so delicate that it will not affect the value of the foliage, and you may therefore carry your point in all directions, and use it as freely as you please.

Some etchers find it more convenient to commence with the sky and the background, on account of the points of resistance encountered by the needle in the more deeply bitten lines of the trees, which destroys their freedom of execution. They are correct, whenever the sky to be executed is very complicated; but if only a few lines are involved, it will be better to introduce them afterwards. It is, besides, an easy matter to get accustomed to the jumping of the point when it is working on a ground that has previously been bitten.

What I have just told you applies also to the masts and the rigging of vessels, &c., and, indeed, to all lines which cut clearly and strongly across a delicately bitten distance.

An etcher of great merit has conceived the original idea of executing an etching in the bath itself, commencing with the pa.s.sages which need a vigorous biting, then successively pa.s.sing on to the more delicate parts, and finally ending with the sky.[C] The various distances thus receive their due proportion of biting; but it is necessary to work very quickly, as the biting of a plate etched in the bath in this manner proceeds five to six times more rapidly than if done in the ordinary manner. Every etcher ought to be curious to try this bold method of working, so that he may see how it is possible to ally the inspiration of the moment with the uncertain duration of the biting, which in this process has emanc.i.p.ated itself from all methodical rule, and follows no law but that imposed upon it by the caprice of the artist.[16]

[C] The bath, in this case, is composed as follows:-- 880 gr. water.

100 " pure hydrochloric (muriatic) acid.

20 " pota.s.sium chlorate.

All this goes to show you that there is ample liberty of choice as to processes in etching. It is well to try them all, as it is well to try every thing that may give new and unknown results, may inspire ideas, or may lead to progress, neither of which is likely to happen in the pursuit of mere routine work.

CHAPTER VII.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.--ZINK AND STEEL PLATES.--VARIOUS THEORIES.

A. RECOMMENDATIONS AND AUXILIARY PROCESSES.

73. =The Roulette.=--The lat.i.tude which I gave you does not extend to the point of approving of all material resources without any exception.

There is one which I shall not permit you to make use of, as the needle has enough resources of its own to be able to do without it. I allude to the _roulette_, which finds its natural application in other species of engraving.

74. =The Flat Point.=--Employ the _flat point_ with judgment; it takes up a great deal of varnish, but gives lines of little depth, and of less strength than those which can be obtained by prolonged biting, with an ordinary needle.

75. =The Graver or Burin.=--"And the graver: what do you say to that?"

The graver is the customary and fundamental tool of what is properly called "line-engraving." Although it is not absolutely necessary in the species of etching which we are studying, there are cases, nevertheless, in which it can be used to advantage, but always as an auxiliary only.

If, for instance, you desire to give force to a deeply bitten but grayish and dull pa.s.sage, or to a flat tint which looks monotonous, a few resolute and irregular touches with the graver will do wonders, and will add warmth and color. A few isolated lines with the graver give freshness to a muddy, broken, or foxy tint, without increasing its value.

The graver may also be employed in patching deeply bitten pa.s.sages.

The graver, of a rectangular form, with an angular cutting edge, is applied almost horizontally on the bare copper; its handle, rounded above, flat below, is held in the palm of the hand; the index finger presses on the steel bar; it is pushed forward, and easily enters the metal: the degree of pressure applied, and the angle which it makes with the plate, produces the difference in the engraved lines. The color obtained by the burin is deeper than that obtained by biting, as it cuts more deeply into the copper. If extensively used in an etching, the work executed by the graver contrasts rather unpleasantly with the quality of the etched work, as its lines are extremely clear cut. To get rid of this inequality, it is sufficient to rebite the pa.s.sages in question very slightly, which gives to the burin-lines the appearance of etched lines.

In short: use the graver with great circ.u.mspection, as its application to works of the needle is a very delicate matter, and gives to an etching a character different from that which we are striving for. It seems to me that to employ it on a free etching, done on the spur of the moment, would be like throwing a phrase from Bossuet into the midst of a lively conversation.[17]

76. =Sandpaper.=--As regards other mechanical means, be distrustful of tints obtained by rubbing the copper with sandpaper; these tints generally show in the proof as muddy spots, and are wanting in freshness. Avoid the process, because of its difficulty of application.

Only a very skilful engraver can put it to good uses.

77. =Sulphur Tints.=--I shall be less afraid to see you make use of _flowers of sulphur_ for the purpose of harmonizing or increasing the weight of a tint. The sulphur is mixed with oil, so as to form a h.o.m.ogeneous paste thick enough to be laid on with a brush.

By the action of these two substances the polish on the plate is destroyed, and the result in printing is a fresh and soft tint, which blends agreeably with the work of the needle.

Differences in value are easily obtained by allowing the sulphur to remain on the plate for a greater or less period of time. This species of biting acts more readily in hot weather; a few minutes are sufficient to produce a firm tint. In cold weather relatively more time is needed.

The corrosions produced in this way have quite a dark appearance on the plate, but they produce much lighter tints in printing. If you are not satisfied with the result obtained, you can rub it out with charcoal, as the copper is corroded only quite superficially.

Owing to this extreme slightness of biting, the burnisher may also be used to reduce any parts which are to stand out white.

This process, as you see, is very accommodating; but it is too much like mezzotint or aquatint, and, furthermore, it can only be applied in flat tints, without modelling. I have, nevertheless, explained it to you, so that you may be able to use it, if you should have a notion to do so, as a matter of curiosity, but with reserve. It is better to use the dry point, which has more affinity to the processes natural to etching.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate V.]

78. =Mottled Tints.=--You may also make use of the following process (but with the same restrictions) in the representation of parts of old walls, of rocks and earth, or of pa.s.sages to which you desire to impart the character of a sort of artistic disorder:--Distribute a quant.i.ty of ordinary etching-ground on a copper plate sufficiently heated; then take your dabber, and, having charged it unequally with varnish, and having also heated your etched plate, press the dabber on the pa.s.sages which are to receive the tint; the varnish adheres to the plate in an irregular manner, leaving the copper bare here and there. Now stop out with the brush those parts which you desire to protect, and bite in with pure acid; the result will be a curiously mottled irregular tint (see Pl. V. Fig. 2). Properly used in the representation of subjects on which you are at liberty to exercise your fancy, this process will give you unexpected and often happy results.

79. =Stopping-out before all Biting.=--Before we proceed, I must show you an easy method of representing a thunder-storm (see Pl. V. Fig.

2):--Work the sky with the needle, very closely, so as to get the sombre tints of the clouds; and, before biting, trace the streaks of lightning on the etched work with a brush and stopping-out varnish; being thus protected against the acid, these streaks will show white in the printing, and the effect will be neater and more natural than if you had attempted to obtain it by the needle itself, as you will avoid the somewhat hard outlines on either side of the lightning, which would otherwise have been necessary to indicate it.

You can employ the same process for effects of moonlight, for reflected lights on water, and, in fact, for all light lines which it is difficult to pick out on a dark ground.