Monotype by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, probably a second impression

Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. Printmaking is the Process of making artworks by Printing, normally on Paper. Drawing is a Visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. In hot metal Typesetting, a matrix (often abbreviated to "mat" is a mould for casting the letters known as sorts used in Letterpress printing Poly(methyl methacrylate ( PMMA) or poly(methyl 2-methylpropenoate is a Thermoplastic and transparent Plastic. The image is then transferred onto a sheet of paper by pressing the two together, usually using a printing-press. Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth thereby transferring an image Monotypes can also be created by inking an entire surface and then, using brushes or rags, removing ink to create a subtractive image, e. "Paintbrush" redirects here For other uses see Paintbrush (disambiguation. g. creating lights from a field of opaque color. The inks used may be oil based or water based. With oil based inks, the paper may be dry, in which case the image has more contrast, or the paper may be damp, in which case the image has a 10 percent greater range of tones.

Unlike monoprinting, monotyping produces a unique print, or monotype, because most of the ink is removed during the initial pressing. Monoprinting is a form of Printmaking that has images or lines that cannot exactly be reproduced Although subsequent reprintings are sometimes possible, they differ greatly from the first print and are generally considered inferior. A second print from the original plate is called a "ghost print" or "cognate". Cognates in Linguistics are words that have a common origin They may occur within a language such as shirt and skirt as two English words descended from Stencils, watercolor, solvents, brushes, and other tools are often used to embellish a monotype print. A stencil is a Template used to draw or paint identical letters, Symbols, Shapes or Patterns every Watercolor ( US) or Watercolour ( UK) (and "aquarelle" in French is a Painting method A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid liquid or gaseous Solute, resulting in a Solution. "Paintbrush" redirects here For other uses see Paintbrush (disambiguation. Monotypes are often spontaneously executed and with no previous sketch. A sketch (from Ancient Greek σχέδιος - schedios “‘made suddenly off-hand’” from σχεδιάζω - schediazo “‘to do a

History

The monotype process was invented by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-64), an Italian painter and etcher who was also the first artist to produce brushed sketches intended as finished and final works of art (rather than as studies for another work). Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (baptized March 23, 1609 - 1664 was an Italian Baroque artist painter Printmaker and draftsman For other uses of etch or etching, see Etching (disambiguation, for the history of the method see Old master prints. He is the only Italian to have invented a printmaking technique. Printmaking is the Process of making artworks by Printing, normally on Paper. ^[1] He began to make monotypes in the 1640s, normally working from black to white, and produced over twenty surviving ones, over half of which are set at night (Theseus finding the Arms of his Father, 1643). Few other artists used the technique until Degas, who made several, often working on them further after printing (Beside the Sea, 1876-7). In the twentieth century the technique became more popular.

Comparing monotyping to monoprinting

Monoprinting and monotyping are very similar. Both involve the transfer of ink from a plate to the paper, canvas, or other surface that will ultimately hold the work of art. In the case of monotyping the plate is a featureless plate. It contains no features that will impart any definition to successive prints. The most common feature would be the etched or engraved line on a metal plate. In the absence of any permanent features on the surface of the plate, all articulation of imagery is dependent on one unique inking, resulting in one unique print. Monoprints, on the other hand, are the results of plates that have permanent features on them. Monoprints can be thought of as variations on a theme, with the theme resulting from some permanent features being found on the plate -- lines, textures -- that persist from print to print. Variations are confined to those resulting from how the plate is inked prior to each print. The variations are endless, but certain permanent features on the plate will tend to persist from one print to the next.

Notes

1. ^ Prints and Printmaking, Antony Griffiths, British Museum Press (in UK),2nd edn, 1996 ISBN 071412608X

References

• Reed, Sue Welsh & Wallace, Richard, Italian Etchers of the Renaissance and Baroque, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1989,pp 262-5,ISBN 0-87846-306-2 or 304-4 (pb)

External links

• Spontaneous Color Blends with Monotypes Article on commercial site demonstrating a 3-color registration process
• [1] Video explaining the monotype process.