Ariadne Florentina’s lecture on wood and metal engraving exposes the complexity behind the execution of wood engravings as well as the responsibility of artists to pay respect to the natural characteristics of the medium. The reading also details the extreme precision and skill required for wood engravings by exploring the role and necessity of the hand in following the directions of the mind as a faithful and dedicated servant. In essence, it is essential for the hand to showcase dexterity to fulfill the strict foundations and rules of wood engraving (66). This forces one to deeply appreciate the techniques the artist perfected to produce and execute fine wood engravings.
Perhaps the best way to appreciate the beauty of a clean wood cut is to understand the difference between wood and metal engraving. This requires consideration of the rules in creating engravings in the two materials. In wood engraving one prints from solid surfaces, drawing with white lines, leaving a quantity of black while in metal engravings, one draws with black lines leaving a quantity of white (67). As such …show more content…
In fact, he laments that a wood engraving can never be as beautiful or detailed as a painting (88). But because the wood requires artists to execute wood engravings with fewer lines than are in the object itself , it creates distinctions between artists who respect the process of drawing on wood and those who are ignorant of such foundational rules. And despite the restriction of limited lines, wood engravings create a concentrated image for the viewer to enjoy by presenting artists with the opportunity to select what the viewer will see. A wood engraving requires deliberate lines carved with creative ingenuity, appealing to humanity’s natural instinct to notice and seize the most important points in the things we see
Perhaps the best way to appreciate the beauty of a clean wood cut is to understand the difference between wood and metal engraving. This requires consideration of the rules in creating engravings in the two materials. In wood engraving one prints from solid surfaces, drawing with white lines, leaving a quantity of black while in metal engravings, one draws with black lines leaving a quantity of white (67). As such …show more content…
In fact, he laments that a wood engraving can never be as beautiful or detailed as a painting (88). But because the wood requires artists to execute wood engravings with fewer lines than are in the object itself , it creates distinctions between artists who respect the process of drawing on wood and those who are ignorant of such foundational rules. And despite the restriction of limited lines, wood engravings create a concentrated image for the viewer to enjoy by presenting artists with the opportunity to select what the viewer will see. A wood engraving requires deliberate lines carved with creative ingenuity, appealing to humanity’s natural instinct to notice and seize the most important points in the things we see