DOI issue:
Nr. 170 (May 1907)
DOI article:East, Alfred: The art of the painter-etcher - etchings from nature
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20774#0304
The Art of the Painter-Etcher
the trouble of this process deprives the art of etch-
ing direct from nature of some of its pleasures.
But no one can adequately describe the sensa-
tion one feels when the first proof is pulled from a
plate that is perfectly etched and bitten, a delight
that compensates one for all the risks and anxieties
that have gone before. As one lifts the paper from
the plate in the press a hundred hopes and fears
are set at rest, and the pleasure of seeing the first
proof is one that, no matter how old a hand the
etcher may be, is always new and always exciting.
There is no branch of this art that is comparable
to that of the original etcher. All are translators,
if you will: one, however, translates the work of
man, while the other translates the work of nature.
One binds you down to the expression of the
painter who has already solved all these interesting
problems of nature. The latter has none of the
restrictions which must of necessity govern the
former, for he is free to choose a thousand things
that nature offers him, and if he has the power
of selection, which is his prerogative as it is that
of the painter, he selects one that is suitable to
be expressed by his particular art. If, on the
other hand, he deliberately selects one that cannot
be adequately expressed in line, he has no one to
blame. In his selection he may exhibit that fine-
ness of perception which should always be one of
the principal qualifications of an artist. Let him
be quite sure before he touches his metal; let him
make a careful pencil-drawing, or a series of draw-
ings, of the same size as the plate he intends to
etch. By this means he will avoid a possible
mistake in his selection, and not only that but by
drawing the subject in pencil he will become
thoroughly acquainted with the materials of which
it is constituted. This should give him con-
fidence and courage—the qualifications which are
necessary to his success. He cannot know his
subject too well; his knowledge should be almost
sufficient for him to etch it from memory. The
confidence thus gained will tell; each line will be
a vital one, full of meaning, drawn confidently, so
that, when bitten, it will be beautiful, showing
“AT TAORMINA, SICILY *'
282
FROM THE AQUATINT BY ALFRED EAST, A. R. A.
the trouble of this process deprives the art of etch-
ing direct from nature of some of its pleasures.
But no one can adequately describe the sensa-
tion one feels when the first proof is pulled from a
plate that is perfectly etched and bitten, a delight
that compensates one for all the risks and anxieties
that have gone before. As one lifts the paper from
the plate in the press a hundred hopes and fears
are set at rest, and the pleasure of seeing the first
proof is one that, no matter how old a hand the
etcher may be, is always new and always exciting.
There is no branch of this art that is comparable
to that of the original etcher. All are translators,
if you will: one, however, translates the work of
man, while the other translates the work of nature.
One binds you down to the expression of the
painter who has already solved all these interesting
problems of nature. The latter has none of the
restrictions which must of necessity govern the
former, for he is free to choose a thousand things
that nature offers him, and if he has the power
of selection, which is his prerogative as it is that
of the painter, he selects one that is suitable to
be expressed by his particular art. If, on the
other hand, he deliberately selects one that cannot
be adequately expressed in line, he has no one to
blame. In his selection he may exhibit that fine-
ness of perception which should always be one of
the principal qualifications of an artist. Let him
be quite sure before he touches his metal; let him
make a careful pencil-drawing, or a series of draw-
ings, of the same size as the plate he intends to
etch. By this means he will avoid a possible
mistake in his selection, and not only that but by
drawing the subject in pencil he will become
thoroughly acquainted with the materials of which
it is constituted. This should give him con-
fidence and courage—the qualifications which are
necessary to his success. He cannot know his
subject too well; his knowledge should be almost
sufficient for him to etch it from memory. The
confidence thus gained will tell; each line will be
a vital one, full of meaning, drawn confidently, so
that, when bitten, it will be beautiful, showing
“AT TAORMINA, SICILY *'
282
FROM THE AQUATINT BY ALFRED EAST, A. R. A.