A technical dictionary of printmaking, André
Béguin.
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"Printmaking dictionary"
Crayon
manner
The crayon manner is also refered to as
the chalk manner.
Basically it is an intaglio engraving done on metal whose goal it is
to imitate chalk and crayon drawings, hence the term used to
designate it.
This process was first used in 1735
hy Pond and Knapton in England and soon after by Jean-Charles
François in France. "The results obtained by François
were, however, so incomplete in comparison to the improvements made
shortly thereafter by Demarteau that it seems fairer to attribute to
the latter a good part of the first success in crayon manner
engraving". (Henri Delaborde, La
Gravure, p.249).
In 1757 François presented his results to the Royal Academy of
Painting whose members complimented him for finding a technique for
"perpetuating the drawings of the masters and multiplying examples of
the most beautiful ways of drawing". It must no be forgotten that
engraving was the only reproductive technique available in the 18th
century and that drawings were then enjoying an immense popularity
which was exploited by engraving. In fact engraving was used to make
fac-simile copies of drawings of Fragonard, Watteau, and Boucher.
Boucher actually drew some one thousand drawings which were
expressely done to be engraved by Demarteau. Actually a great number
of these engravings have since been sold as original drawings.
Louis-Marin Bonnet had the idea of increasing the number of plates so
as to be able to reproduce three colour crayon drawings (the three
colours being black, red chalk, and white chalk)
[*
colour].
The crayon manner enjoyed a great success in all of Europe only to be
supplanted by
lithography*
which stole from it most of its exclusive effects since lithography
allowed artists to draw directly onto a stone.
The first engravers using this crayon manner worked with a tool having three points
in order to obtain a crayon or chalk effect. The three points of the tool were not
of the same lenght so that the lines would not be to clear cut. Hatching was then
done with roulettes, little rollers with
unequally distributed teeth which mounted like spurs onto a wooden handle.
Finally, in order to mat the copper plate a kind of punch called a
mace-head or mattoir was used (its end was made of little teeth which
penetrated the plate to be matted). The plate was covered with a ground which was
worked with the above-mentioned tools and then the plate was etched in the same
way as any other etched plate. The result was that the plate became covered with
dotted lines. Because of this aspect this technique has, at times, been classified
as a variant of dotted work. When printed the lines are somewhat blurred as
in crayon drawing and can be more or less fine depending on the roulette used.
Actually roulettes were also used to make corrections on the naked copper and at
times were used on the plate without an intervening ground or etching process at all.
The roulettes available today are relatively wide and thus if one wishes to draw
just a line one must use the edge of the roulette. Furthermore, the grain of such
roulettes is made mechanically and thus is quite regular. A blurred effect can only
be obtained by superimposing various layers without applying to much pressure.
There is a second way of doing crayon manner work which was imported from
England to France towards the end of the 18th century. Gainsborough worked with this
method around 1760 as well as several other English artists. The soft ground crayon
manner practiced in England was taken up by Decamps in France and by Félicien
Rops in Belgium.
The soft ground crayon manner is done in the following manner: after scouring
the plate is covered with a soft ground. At present such grounds can be bought
ready made even though they differ slightly depending on the manufacturers.
The traditional ingredients and proportions of soft ground are the following:
5 parts black ground (ball) to 1 part ox tallow, lard, or vaseline in summer and
the same ingredients but half and halt in winter. The proportions of this recipe
were, of course, determined in function of the temperature in the workshops of
the past and must therefore be adapted to the heating done in workshops today.
The mixture is made in a double boiler
and when the soft ground is ready it is rolled into a ball shape and put into a
piece of silk cloth. Once all of this has been done rub the ball of
ground over the warmed surface of the plate so as to to deposit some ground. Then,
if necessary, use a roller to spread the ground evenly on the plate surface.
The layer of ground must be quite thin. Let the ground cool off making sure that it
is not exposed to dust (place a folded sheet of paper over it so as to make a
little roof). It is best to let the ground and plate rest for at least twelve hours
before beginning further work.
When the ground is dry (even though it is hard to speak of dryness when using a soft
ground) put a piece of light paper on the plate and proceed to draw on it with a
relatively hard graphite (lead) pencil.
Each stroke of the pencil will cause the soft ground to he transferred to the sheet
of paper and leave the the copper plate exposed. When the drawing is finished the
plate can be etched. The purposes and interests of this method lie in the different
effects achieved by changing the pressure of the pencil when drawing as well as the
different thicknesses and qualities of paper that can be used. Thus the hardness of
the pencil and the type of paper must be chosen in function of the results sought
after.
In order to make fine lines choose relatively hard pencils (2 H to 5 H) while a
softer pencil should be used for wider lines. However, it must be remembered that
the sheet of paper will influence the outcome as much as any pencil insofar as the
fineness and aspect of the line is concerned. In fact, if the paper has a grain (if
it is laid paper such as Ingres paper) this grain will be pushed through the ground
with the slightest pressure and will thus increase the crayon drawing character of
the final product.
In a letter Félicien Rops wrote to the printer Delâtre he explained that he used
several different kinds of paper the first being tracing paper, the second the paper
"used by florists to make white roses", the third notebook paper, and the fourth a
large grained Dutch paper. By using these different types of paper on the same plate
Rops managed to vary his lines and strokes in such a way that each layer of the
drawing took on the right tonality.
Tracing paper gives a very soft line and presents the advantage (as do all
transparent papers) that it can be drawn on directly with an ivory tip (with or
without a prepared design on the tracing paper which must in any case be very
light). When drawing this way the result becomes immediately apparent as a gray line
since the soft ground sticks to the back of the tracing paper. Transparent polyester
sheets can be used instead of tracing paper since the sheets have not only all of
the advantages of tracing paper but are also more resistant and more supple.
All papers can be fixed to the plate by being dampened except for tracing paper
which is damaged by such treatment. The sheet of paper, which must he bigger than
the plate, should be folded under the plate and stuck to is with adhesive tape
[ * adhesive materials]. When the paper
dries it will shrink and thus stretch to become an even surface which is perfect for
drawing on. Be careful not to place your hand on the sheet of paper since even a
slight pressure will leave a mark on the ground and will then print (later on)
as a spot. The work should be done with a handrest which goes from one side of the
plate to the other much like a bridge as it will allow for steadier drawing without
letting the hand touch the plate.
Fixing the paper sheet to the metal plate does present one drawback, however, since
the results of the drawing on the soft ground cannot be checked before the work is
finished. Personally I think that fixing the paper on the top side of the plate is a
better approach. If this is done it will be quite easy to lift the sheet up to check
both the soft ground and the back of the sheet where the ground sticks and thus
find out what is still missing. The lifting of the sheet of paper does not cause
any problems in falling back into the same position as long as the sheet is folded
down the same way as it was raised.
It is best not to detach the sheet of paper being used before making sure that the
results wished for have more or less all been attained because corrections in the
crayon manner are delicate and difficult to make. In fact, corrections can be done
using a tool only if one is willing to disturb the characteristics of this process.
The only solution is to cover the plate with a new layer of ground after having
printed a proof and then make the necessary additions by using a tracing of the
incomplete print/impression. On the other hand, lines that are too pronounced can
be "erased" with a burnisher.
A certain amount of experience is needed to obtain the best possible results in
combining grounding, drawing, and biting a plate. In order to judge to what extent
the plate has been uncovered (before etching) check the back of the sheet to see
how much ground sticks to it. A well transferred ground should theoretically be an
indication that the etching will be well done. One can also check whether the ground
has been properly removed by making the plate reflect light.
Insofar as the biting is concerned please turn to the entry
biting. Insofar as the preparation of the
potassium bichromate solution is concerned (the solution called for by Rops) see
mordant. Remember that biting is a delicate
job since one must never touch the edges of the plate with one's fingers as fingers
can easily leave marks on the soft ground. Thus the plate should be placed on a
larger one which is then used for the various manipulations. Furthermore, much care
should be taken to brush the plate very delicately during the biting process.
Actually it is best to just rock the biting pan back and forth instead of brushing
or feathering.
The printing of a crayon manner print is done in the same way as any
intaglio* plate.
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