There are a few key reasons why the face, and self-portraits in particular, have been so prominent in the history of art: 1. The face is one of the most expressive parts of the human body. Artists have long used facial expressions and features to convey emotions, thoughts, and psychological states. Self-portraits allow artists to directly explore and communicate their own inner experiences. 2. Portraiture has historically been one of the major genres of art, used to document important people and events. Self-portraits allowed artists to insert themselves into history and assert their own identity and importance. 3. The development of mirrors made self-portraiture technically possible for the first time. This coincided

1. Printmaking
The design and production of prints by an artist
Washi literally means" Japanese paper" is a type of paper
made in Japan. Washi is commonly made using fibers from
trees and shrubs, but also can be made using bamboo, hemp,
rice, and wheat. Washi comes from wa meaning Japanese
and shi meaning paper, and the term is used to describe
paper made by hand in the traditional manner.
Paul Celan
reduction woodcut
48 x 22.5 inches
5 colors
hand printed
on washi

2. What is it?
Mount Fuji, from the Thirty-six
Views of Mount Fuji, color woodcut
by Katsushika Hokusai
► Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper.
► Except in the case of monotype, the process is capable of producing multiples of the
same piece, which is called a print .
► Painting or drawing creates ONE unique original piece of artwork.
► Prints are created from a single original surface, known technically as a matrix.
Common types of matrices include: plates of metal, stone, used for lithography;
blocks of wood for woodcuts, linoleum for linocuts and fabric plates for screen-
printing.
► Works printed from a single plate create an edition, usually each is signed and
edition
numbered to form a limited edition.

3. How to
sign
your
prints

4. What will we learn?
► We are going to learn how to
create prints by cutting linoleum
blocks.
► Printmaking, as an art form and as
a means of communication, has a
long and interesting history. We
will learn about and value the
process of printmaking and the
ramifications it has had on our
current society.
► Printmaking has shaped culture in
all parts of the world. We will learn
how it was originally used as a
form of communication, but now is
valued as an artistic medium with
unique technical qualities.

5. Paper
► The invention of paper set
the stage for printmaking
throughout the world,
because paper was
affordable and well-suited to
printing. As papermaking
knowledge spread from
China to the rest of Asia,
the Middle East, and
Europe, printmaking
became
more widespread and
technologically
sophisticated.

6. Printing as art
► Printmaking has its roots
in prehistoric times, when
humans placed their hands
on cave walls and blew
pulverized pigment around
them to create images.
► In approximately 500 BCE,
Sumerians carved images
on cylinder seals that could
be pressed into wet clay,
thereby creating multiple
imprints to indicate the
ownership of goods.
► Chinese scholars created
rubbings from carved texts
around 200 CE, an early
form of printing that could
be done on paper and silk.

7. Printing for Communication
► Printmaking initially flourished as
a form of communication, for it
enabled artists to make multiples
that could be disseminated to a
large number of people.
► Starting in the eighth century,
Japanese artists used printmaking
to make multiple editions of
Buddhist manuscripts. What is a
manuscript?
► In fourteenth century Europe,
woodcut prints became a popular
way to distribute Christian images
to the common people.
► In the fifteenth century,
Gutenberg’s printed Bible ushered
in a whole new era of literacy.

8. The press ► Johann Gutenberg invented
the printing press in 1450.
► Europe prior to this was a
place full of illiterate people:
no books and no schools!
► Ok, some books, but they
were owned only by priests
and the rich because they
were hand written either by
monks or scribes (what is this
called?)
► Information traveled by word
of mouth; namely priests (this
gave the church lots of
control over the people) and
the occasional traveling
storyteller, or jongleur.
Using the Gutenberg Press

9. History
► So Gutenberg invents this thing, the printing
press. What does it do? How does it work?
► What did the printing press allow us to make
MANY of very quickly?
► What is the VERY FIRST book printed?
How do you think this invention affected the illiterate European society?
• Schools emerged = Literacy!
• Common people had access to MUCH more information
• People saw contradictions among texts and caused individual
CRITICAL thinking
• Traditional power structures began to be challenged (the Reformation)
• Scientific knowledge expanded (the Renaissance)
• The Church slowly but surely was losing absolute power
• INDIVIDUALISM!! The idea spread that everyone was entitled to an
opinion and could print it in a book!
But how does the Printing Press affect your life, today???
All these things resulted in the formation of DEMOCRACY

10. Famous Printmakers
► From the Renaissance onward, individual artists became known for
their spectacular use of printmaking.
► Albrecht Dürer dazzled fifteenth century audiences with the exquisite
detail and craftsmanship of his paintings, woodblock prints, and
engravings.
► Two centuries later, Rembrandt’s mastery of the intaglio medium
enabled him to create an influential group of over three hundred
printmaking plates.
► About the same time, Japanese artists such as Katsushika Hokusai
took the art of woodblock printing to new heights.
► Over time, the “toolbox” of printmaking techniques expanded to include
etching, mezzotint, and eventually lithography, silkscreen, and
monoprint. As processes became more complex, more artists began to
work in printshops with professional facilities and the expertise of a
Master Printer.

11. Albrecht Dürer
Dürer's
Rhinoceros,
woodcut, 1515.
The Four
Horsemen of the
Apocalypse, 1497-

12. Hokusai
► Katsushika Hokusai (November 1760–May 10, 1849)
was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of
the Edo period.
► Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best-known as
author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of
Mount Fuji (1831) which includes the iconic and
internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off
Kanagawa, created during the 1820s.
► Hokusai created the "Thirty-Six Views" both as a
response to a domestic travel boom and as part of a
personal obsession with Mount Fuji. It was this series,
specifically The Great Wave print and Fuji in Clear
Weather, that secured Hokusai’s fame both within Japan
and overseas
► Ukiyo-e "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of
Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced
between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs
of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre and
pleasure quarters. It is the main artistic genre of
woodblock printing in Japan.
► The "floating world" (ukiyo) refers to the impulsive urban
culture that bloomed and was a world unto itself.
Although the traditional classes of Japanese society were
bound by numerous strictures and prohibitions, the rising
merchant class was relatively unregulated, therefore
"floating."
1839 Self Portrait

13. Mount Fuji, from the Thirty-six
Views of Mount Fuji, color
woodcut by Katsushika Hokusai

14. The Great Wave off Kanagawa,
Hokusai's most famous print,
the first in the series 36 Views of Mount Fuji

15. Linocut
► The linocut is a printmaking technique similar to
that of the woodcut, the difference being that the
image is engraved on linoleum instead of wood.
► Since linoleum offers an easier surface for working,
linocuts offer more precision and a greater variety
of effects than woodcuts.
► Long disparaged by serious artists as not
challenging enough, the linocut came into its own
after artists like Picasso and Matisse began to
work in that technique.

16. The Process
1. The artist draws a sketch on a matirx, in our case a linoleum
block, or on paper which is transferred to the matrix.
2. The artist then uses sharp tools to carve away the parts of
the linoleum that he/she does not want to receive the ink.
3. Ink is spread onto a plate. Then the raised parts of the linocut
are inked with a brayer.
4. Then a sheet of paper, perhaps slightly damp, is placed over
the linocut.
5. The linocut with the paper on top is then run through the
printing press, which applies even pressure.
6. The print is then “pulled” from the linocut. You then have
either an artist’s proof or the first print of your edition.

17. PABLO PICASSO,
Le Peintre à la
Palette,
1963, linocut.
Gift of Dr. and Mrs.
Milton Rosenbaum

18.
► Pablo Picasso
(Spanish, 1881-1973).
Still Life Under a Lamp,
1962; color linocut. John
L. Severance Fund 1984.

19. ►
Pablo Picasso, Portrait of
Young Girl (after Cranach),
1958

20. ► Pablo Picasso "Tête
de Femme"/"Portrait
de Jacqueline de
face. II“ colorlinocut,
IV. 1962

21. ► Henri Matisse
(French, b. 1869, La Cateau,
France, d. 1954, Nice, France)
Head of a Woman, 1938

22. Terms to know
► Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper
► Relief
A type of sculpture in which form projects from a background.
► Printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a
medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring an image. The systems involved were first
assembled in Germany by the goldsmith Johann Gutenberg
► Edition
The number of images printed from the plate is called an edition. The body of the edition is
numbered (for example, 1/100 through 10/100) directly on the print, in pencil. Additional proofs,
such as artist's proofs, are also part of the edition.
► Artist's Proofs
Artist's proofs are those impressions from an edition that are specifically intended for the artist's
own use. These impressions are in addition to the numbered edition and are so noted in pencil as
artist proof or A/P. The legitimate number of artist's proofs for a given edition us usually around
10% of the total.
► States
Once the artist has drawn an image, he or she may pull several prints. If the artist subsequently
changes the image, the first prints are called first state, and the subsequent prints with the
change, second state. The artist can continue to make changes, with the number of states going
as high as ten or more. These state proofs are, for demanding collectors, objects of desire.

23. Things to remember…
Reverse Image
Pulling a Print
Brayer
Contrast
Texture (implied)
Pattern
Bench Hook
Plate
Positive Areas
Negative Areas
Registrations
Self-Portrait

24. Beginning Studio
► You will be creating a two color reduction print.
The subject is Hokusai’s wave. You will create an
image that incorporates his wave. You must
change it to be your own in some way.
► You must come up with 2 thumbnail sketches that
explore 2 different ideas and compositions. You
must add color with colored pencil.
► When you finish, at least 50% of your block should
be cut away.

25. Studio II, Advanced and AP
► You will be creating a three or four color
reduction print. You may choose your
subject matter, but your piece must convey
a feeling and/or emotion. You may do this
through subject matter, color, or line quality.
► You must come up with four thumbnail
sketches that explore different
compositions.

26. How and why has the face,
especially the self-portrait,
been so prominent an image
through out the history of
art ?