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M a tis s e ' s Pr in tM a kin g

P r o c e s s e s

aquatint :   Aquatint is a variation on the etching process that allows the

artist to add passages of tone to the print. To create an aquatint, an etching

plate is dusted with a fine rosin powder and heated to bind the rosin onto

the plate. The particles of rosin dust are acid resistant; thus when immersed

in acid, the metal is bitten in small areas around the particles. The result is

a plate etched with fine recesses that hold onto ink and print as a network

of small, irregular dots. The depth of the recesses, and hence the darkness

of the tone, can be controlled by varying the amount of time that the plate

is exposed to the acid. Aquatint plates can be burnished or rubbed with a

smooth metal tool to modify or add highlights to areas of tone.

D r y P o i n t :   Drypoint is an intaglio process, meaning the design (image)

is actually incised in a metal plate. This is in a class of printing techniques

that also includes aquatint, engraving, etching, and mezzotint. To take an

impression from an intaglio plate, ink is forced down into the incised lines

of the plate, and excess ink is wiped from its surface. A sheet of paper is

placed on top of the plate and passed under the roller of a printing press.

Under the pressure of the press, the paper is pushed down into the lines toreceive the ink. To make a drypoint, the artist scratches lines directly on the

plate with a sharp instrument such as a needle or a knifepoint. The process

of scratching the plate displaces metal and creates a rough burr of metal

along the edges of each line. The burr holds extra ink that, when printed,

creates lines that have a soft, feathery quality.

e t c h i n g :   Etching is an intaglio process in which the lines of the design

are etched or bitten into the metal plate using the corroding action of acid.

To make an etching, the plate is covered with a ground layer of an acid-resis-

tant material such as wax or resin. The artist draws through the ground with

a needle to expose areas of bare metal. When the plate is brushed with or

immersed in acid, the artist’s drawing is etched into the metal. The ground

layer is removed, and the plate is inked and printed using an intaglio press.

L i f t - g r o u n D a q u a t i n t :   Lift-ground (also known as sugar lift)

aquatint is an intaglio process that allows the artist to create prints that

have the fluid appearance of pen and ink or brush and ink drawings. In

this process, the artist draws or paints on the plate with a sugar-based (wa-

ter soluble) solution. After the solution dries, the plate is coated with an

acid-resistant varnish and immersed in water. As the water-soluble solution

slowly dissolves, it lifts the varnish from the areas of the plate where the art-

ist drew. Then, as with a standard aquatint, the plate is dusted overall with

rosin, heated to fuse the powder in place, and etched with acid.

L i n o L e u M c u t :   Linoleum cut is a variation on the woodcut in which

a sheet of linoleum is carved instead of a plank of wood. Introduced in the

late nineteenth century for use as floor coverings, linoleum was originally

produced from solidified linseed oil mixed with wood dust and adhered to

a burlap backing. Because linoleum is strong but relatively soft and has no

directional grain, it can be more easily carved than wood and is not suscep-

tible to splitting during carving or printing.

L i t h o g r a P h :   Lithographyis aplanographicprocess,meaningthatthe

inkdesignisimpressedonpaperfromaflatsurfacethathasbeenchemically

alteredratherthanfrom anincised,carved,or otherwiseirregularsurface.The

processisbaseduponthechemicalincompatibilityofoil andwater.Tomake

alithograph,theartistdrawswithanoil-basedcrayonorinkona smoothpo-

roussurfacesuchasa limestoneblockor aspeciallygrainedmetalplate.The

stone isthenpreparedin orderto holdinkin areasofan artist’sdesignand

repelinkinnon-imageareas.Oncetheimageis fixedonthestone,theartist

canaddhighlightsanddetailtothedesignbyscrapingthesurfaceofthestone

 witha needleor aknife. Printinga lithographrequiresa specialflat-bedpress

thatforcesthepaperincontactwiththeinkedstoneata high,evenpressure.

M o n o t y P e :   A monotype is a print made after an artist paints or draws

 with printing ink directly on a flat, smooth surface such as a sheet of glassor an otherwise unprepared metal printing plate. Normally, only one good

impression can be taken from a monotype. Monotypes generally fall into two

distinct groups: those made in the “white field manner,” where the ink is built

up on the plate in the same manner as an ink drawing; and those made in the

“dark field manner,” created by removing ink from a fully inked plate.

t r a n s f e r L i t h o g r a P h :   Lithographs do not need to be drawn di-

rectly on the stone. Drawings made with lithographic crayons on another sur-

face, such as paper, can be transferred by pressure onto a stone and prepared

for printing using the standard techniques. The advantages of transfer lithog-

raphy include the convenience with which the artist can draw on a surface

that is more portable and familiar than a lithographic stone and the fact that

the printed image will be in the same orientation as the original drawing.

W o o D c u t :   A woodcut is created by carving into a plank of wood with

knives, gouges, and other cutting tools. Since woodcut is a relief process,

the areas carved away from the wood define the highlights, or non-printed

areas. To take an impression, the raised areas of the block are rolled with a

layer of ink, and then the image is printed on paper with pressure applied by

a printing press or through rubbing.

t o M P r i M e a u

 Directorof Conservation and PaperConservator

TheBaltimore Museum of Art LargeOdalisque with BayadèreCulottes , 1925. Crayontransfer lithog

(image);29 ½ x22 A/af in. (sheet). Pierreand Tana Matisse Foundati

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Printmaking, a truly

democratic art, enabled

Matisse to create a lib-

rary of images that could

 be made available to a

 wide range of collectors

and public institutions. He produced more than 850 single prints and

many more through his production for book projects. In printmaking,

Matisse’s reliance on drawing becomes most evident. For instance, his

use of transfer lithography allowed for the direct transcription of the

 weight and character of a drawn line. Although he relied on printers

 to realize the editions of his prints, Matisse understood what a par-

 ticular medium might facilitate and when another would be more ap-

propriate. Unlike his contemporary Picasso or earlier masters such

as Rembrandt or Goya, Matisse’s engagement with the processes of

printmaking did not require that he wrestle with techniques. There

 was no need to immerse his hands in the acid or to struggle withcoaxing a dark passage from the lithographic stone. His orientation

 to printmaking afforded him the same opportunity of trial and de-

 velopment that his drawing sessions in the studio enabled. His was

 the same collaborative impulse present in the turn-of-the-c entury

print production by such artists as

Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, and

Edouard Vuillard. Initially using

 the same printer as they, Matisse

relied upon the abilities of a profes-

sional, enabling him to fully realize

his expectations.

 Matisse as Printmaker  brings

printmaking from the shadows of

Matisse’s work as a painter, fore-

grounding his use of black and

 white over the vibrant colors that

most often characterize his work.

The exhibition loosely follows the

chron

reer, p

focus

his fir

in the

ings a

and f

etchin

and a

of lith

rich interiors with odalisques that mark the g

paintings. Like his drawings, the prints follow

ing the outline of the figure, observing the con

contrast, acknowledging the role of light in

its surroundings. Once the evolution of his

printmaking techniques becomes familiar, it

one period in the chronology from another. instance, that the lineage of a lithograph of 19

 An idea introduced in a woodcut from 190

formed in a lithograph or sculpture of 1925.

Through Matisse’s concentration on a re

subjects, we recognize his pro-

found interest in variations on

 themes. Above all other mediums,

prints—whether single or sequen-

ced in books—enabled Matisse to

advance the importance of serial

imagery. Matisse as Printmaker  

includes many groups of prints

in series rather than a sampling,

 which would create a false impres-

sion of a printmaking oeuvre of

stand-alone images. A series can

manifest various themes; a style

of drawing; a medium-centered

h e n r i M a t i s s e   was a  

printmaker, draftsman, sculptor, and of

course a painter. An extraordinary artist,

he was deeply engaged with all these

pursuits, which he saw as closely relat-

ed. Matisse worked in various mediums

simultaneously—sometimes setting one

aside for years, taking it up again when a

particular technique offered the possibil-

ity of a desired result. Just like painting

or sculpture, printmaking was a means to

an end—the end being a visual statement

 that emerged through a gradual process

of transformation. The generosity of Matisse’s art stems

from his desire to lead his audience to a new way of seeing by leaving

 traces of his creative process along the way—whether the still visible

pentimenti in a painting; the remains of erased lines below new ones

in graphite or charcoal drawings; the impression of immediacy in the

modeling of wet clay; or the freedom of exploration in printmaking.

Even though Matisse integrated all of these artistic means, separat-

ing them enables us to comprehend most clearly his particular reasons

for choosing a given medium such as printmaking. Only then can the

full intent of Matisse’s art be legible and can we recognize a process of

refinement toward the pure and essential , as found in his last paper

cutouts, in the simplicity of drawing in his early monotypes, and in his

final aquatints of faces .

 Henri MatisseEngraving  , 1900–03.

Drypoint, 5Y x7 Y  inches(image);

9 AC/af x12 AE/af in. (sheet).  Pierre

andTana MatisseFoundation (1303

-105083)

 Nadia,Face in Three-quarterProfile , 1948. Lift-

ground aquatint, 17 V x13 AA/af in. (image);

2 6 x19 AA/af in. (sheet).  Pierreand Tana Matisse

 Foundation (1442- 104038)

TheLar

tuschelit

in. (imag

and Tan

 Nudeon BlueCushionNext toa Chimney,1925.

Crayontransferlithograph (afterreworkof drawing,

usedfor transferfor Nudeon BlueCushion) ,25 A/afx

18 AC/af in.(image);29 O x22in.(sheet) . Pierreand

TanaMatisse Foundation (1265-1 01056)