line engraving
Noun: 1. A print made from an engraved plate where the design is created by incised lines: This refers to a specific printmaking technique and its resulting artwork. The image is produced by cutting lines into a metal plate (usually copper or steel) with a sharp tool called a burin. Ink is applied to the plate, filling the incised lines, and then the surface is wiped clean. When paper is pressed onto the plate under high pressure, the ink from the lines is transferred to the paper, creating the print. 2. The technique or process of creating such an engraving: This meaning refers to the art form and method itself, involving the skilled hand-cutting of lines into a hard surface to create a printing plate.
- As a physical print:
- The museum's collection includes a rare line engraving by Albrecht Dürer.
- She framed the beautiful line engraving of the old city map.
- Referring to the technique:
- Line engraving was a dominant method for book illustration in the 18th century.
- The artist specialized in the precise art of line engraving.
- The term is often used in art historical contexts to distinguish this intaglio technique from others like etching (where lines are bitten by acid) or wood engraving (where the design is cut into the end-grain of wood).
- It can describe the style of an image, emphasizing clarity, precision, and linear detail:
- Engraving (n.): The broader category of printmaking that includes line engraving.
- Burin (n.): The sharp, steel tool used to cut the lines into the metal plate.
- Intaglio (n.): The family of printmaking techniques where the image is printed from ink held in recessed lines or areas (includes line engraving and etching).
- Copperplate engraving (n.): A common synonym, as copper was a frequently used metal for the plate.
- Copperplate engraving
- Burin engraving
- Intaglio print (when referring specifically to a print made via this line-based intaglio method)
- Engraved line: A single incised mark made by the burin.
- Engraved plate: The prepared metal surface used for printing.
(No common idioms are directly based on this specific technical term.)
- engraving consisting of a block that has been etched or engraved
- a print obtained from a line drawing