What Is a Print?

Woodcut:
An example of woodcut is Anxiety (1896) by Edvard Munch. I selected this work because its emotional connectivity stood out to me. I immediately noticed the overwhelming black ink and unsmiling expressions of the figures. This created an overall gloomy and dark scene, one that depicted a trail of people on an involuntary journey. Anxiety is a good example of woodcutting because in the white spaces, there are marks that might resemble being made by gouging and carving done with an instrument.

Etching:
An example of etching is Death Chasing the Flock of Mortals (1896) by James Ensor. I selected this work because of its incredible details. When I saw it, it was hard to believe that it was a print. Just about every space of the paper is filled up with ink. The reason this print is a good example of etching is because the details seen. Etching makes it possible to create print with such thin and specific lines. Other techniques like woodcut would make it extremely difficult to make such controlled lines. However, etching can essentially be treated as drawing or sketching.

Lithograph:
 An example of lithography is Untitled (1960) by Willem de Kooning. I selected the work because I thought it was unique in showing almost brush-like strokes. It seems so much like a painting, but in reality it was done by printmaking. Specifically lithography, in which designs are drawn with a greasy crayon, then set with a chemical wash and dampened with water, and finally oil-based ink is applied and the image is pressed onto paper. The fact that the technique involves the resistance of water and oil makes this print a great example. There are beads and other marks on the print that appear like the beads or streaks that form when you mingle oil with water.

Screen-printing:
An example of screen-printing is Love (1967) by Robert Indiana. I selected this work because it was so colorful that it caught my attention immediately. It's a great example of screen-printing because the clean-cut lines of the work really showcase the technique of stenciling used in this style of printmaking. The boldness of the design and colors are also characteristic to screen-printing.

Self-Portraits

In choosing subjects for a work of art, the possibilities are endless. Inspiration for art reaches from whatever our eyes may catch to wherever our minds may take us. This truth can be seen by merely observing the myriad of interesting themes that artists have chosen, perhaps Andres Serrano's Piss Christ or Damien Hirst's Mother and Child (Divided) come to mind. There is a subject, although often less subtle than a urine-immersed Jesus Christ and bisected cows, that many artists can't help but wander into and be fascinated by: the self-portrait. If you take a little moment to think about it, the self-portrait is really incredible. There must be so much you can learn about a person in the way that they artistically and emotionally express themselves in a physical object. The self-portrait is essentially an artist saying, "Here's how I see myself. Here's how I feel about myself." And there is no doubt that the self-portrait, seen in this manner, can be an window into understanding an artist and their work. This is especially true with self-portraits that are more expressive. In fact, this is so prominent that analyses of self-portraits are common in the field of psychology and neurology. An interesting book on the topic can be found here: Neurological Disorders in Famous Artists. Today's focus, however, will be on self-portrait drawings.

Self-Portrait by Umberto Boccioni (1910)
Artstor ID: 5734

This self-portrait of Umberto Boccioni is done in pen and ink, wash and pencil on paper. Common in the use of wash, there is a lot of tonal complexity in which the artist was able to do a lot of shading and highlighting. There is also a lot of hatching used throughout the work, most likely created by pen and ink or pencil. This is a great example of how expressive self-portraits can be. The work is overall dark and the expression worn by the artist is scrunched up with a furrowed brow.

Self-Portrait by Francisco de Goya (1795-7)
No Artstor ID

Franciso de Goya did this self-portrait with brush and gray wash on laid paper. The brush strokes come off as very soft. Also, the coloring of the wash is considerable light. Unlike Boccioni's self-portrait, Goya's work is very soft and "romantic" in style. His expression, although slightly stern, is quite kind and there is an unfinished flower on his attire.

Self-portrait in studio with nude model, done in linear style by Ramón Casas (1891-1912)
No Artstor ID

 

This self-portrait scene of the artist painting a nude in his studio is drawn by Ramón Casas in ink. As it is usually done with ink drawings, the shading composes of many lines placed closely next to one another, otherwise called hatching. There is great attention to shading and the details of fabric, however not much in the expressions of the characters. The style in this self-portrait is relatively more expressive and caricature-like than the previous two works. 

Self-Portrait Exaggerating My Negroid Features by Adrian Piper (1980)
No Artstor ID

 

 

Adrien Piper's Self-Portrait Exaggerating My Negroid Features is drawn in pencil. The style is simple like many pencil sketches, focusing on my main factors like the outline of the face and nose and eyes. There is a lot of smooth shading that seems to have been done by rubbing in the graphite, and also excellent highlights in the eyes, on the tip of the nose, cheekbones, and chin. Piper's self-portrait stands out because she intentionally added a twist to it. As the title goes, Piper chose to exaggerate certain features in her self-portrait. This is amazing because by directly altering her portrayal of herself she is shouting her self-expression. The viewers are able to see Piper in a completely different way, and they are left with a message to interpret.

Formal Analysis of Winter (The Vicarage Garden under Snow)

This work, titled Winter (The Vicarage Garden under Snow), was estimated to have been painted by Vincent van Gogh during January of 1885. The painting features a winter scene of bare trees in a row, snow enveloping everything, and a man who seems to be shoveling. 

Winter (The Vicarage Garden under Snow) 1885
oil on canvas
by Vincent van Gogh

The vertical lines in the painting created by the upright figures, such as the trees, man, and sparse plants scattered around, give the painting a stern feeling that adds to the frigidness of winter. Colors also play an important part in the mood of this painting. Vincent van Gogh chose very neutral colors for his painting, ranging from whites to greens to browns and blacks to some blues. These colors form a very natural and slightly dull environment. The color white usually tends to evoke positive and lively emotions, however in this work, the whites give off a lonely and somber sense. Perhaps this trait is due to the mix of other colors in the white and the fact that the color covers so much of the painting. Van Gogh also used a mix of whites, blues, and greens to paint the sky. These choices give the sky a very interesting and complex coloring that causes the viewer to take a prolonged look. Van Gogh also does a very great job of creating the illusion of depth through techniques such as relative size. Relative size can be seen, for example, in the diminishing size of the wall as it moves from the left side of the painting to the right. A notable principle of design in the painting is balance. The wall displayed in the center of the work, essentially cutting it into two top and bottom halves, creates a very obvious vertical balance. In addition to balance, unity can also be found in the painting. Van Gogh creates unity with the dark and white colors located at opposite ends, seemingly encasing the art and tying everything together. Another important principle of design used in the painting emphasis and focal point. It is clear that the man is the focal point of the painting, however, the man's clothing blends in with the background. This appears to intend a lack of emphasis, colliding the background and foreground together.