Linocut

Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing can be done by hand or with a printing press.

Linocut of a tree at a lake

Origins

Although linoleum is a floor covering that dates to the 1860s, the linocut printing technique was used first by the artists of Die Brücke in Germany between 1905 and 1913, where it had been similarly used for wallpaper printing.

Technique

Using a handheld gouger to cut a design into linoleum for a linocut print

Linocut printing; using a design cut into linoleum to make a print on paper

Since the material being carved has no directional grain and does not tend to split, it is easier to obtain certain artistic effects with lino than with most woods, although the resultant prints lack the often angular grainy character of woodcuts and engravings. Lino is generally diced, much easier to cut than wood, especially when heated, but the pressure of the printing process degrades the plate faster and it is difficult to create larger works due to the material's fragility.

Linocuts can also be achieved by the careful application of arts on the surface of the lino. This creates a surface similar to a soft ground etching and these caustic-lino plates can be printed in either a relief, intaglio or a viscosity printing manner.

Colour linocuts can be made by using a different block for each colour as in a woodcut, as the artists of the Grosvenor School frequently did, but, as Pablo Picasso demonstrated, such prints can also be achieved using a single piece of linoleum in what is called the 'reductive' print method. Essentially, after each successive colour is imprinted onto the paper, the artist then cleans the lino plate and cuts away what will not be imprinted for the subsequently applied colour.[1]

Due to ease of use, linocut is widely used in schools to introduce children to the art of printmaking, using it to complete many tasks in the art lesson rather than going straight for the pencil and eraser; similarly, non-professional artists often cut lino rather than wood for printing. Nevertheless, in the contemporary art world the linocut is an established professional print medium, because of its extensive use by the artists of the Grosvenor School, followed by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

Emergence of the technique in America

In 1911 “linoleum art” was first displayed in New York City by the Czech émigré Vojtěch Preissig. In his publications on linocuts (1926-29) the respected American printmaker, Pedro Joseph de Lemos, simplified the methods for art schools and introduced new techniques for color linocuts, including the printing of the key block first.[2] The first large-scale colour linocuts made by an American artist were created ca. 1943–45 by Walter Inglis Anderson, and exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum in 1949. Today, linocut is a popular technique among street artists and street art-related fine art.

Selected artists

"Born in the Soviet Union". Linocut by Peeter Allik.

"Wet Afternoon". Linocut by Ethel Spowers.

Josef Albers, German artist
Peeter Allik, Estonian artist
Valenti Angelo, American printmaker and illustrator
Walter Inglis Anderson American artist
Sybil Andrews English-Canadian artist
Hans Anton Aschenborn, German painter
Georg Baselitz, German artist
Torsten Billman, Swedish artist
Emma Bormann, Austrian printmaker and painter
Gail Brodholt, English artist
Horace Brodzky, Australian/British artist
Angel Botello, Spanish-Puerto Rican artist
Carlos Cortez, American poet and artist
David Call, American Deaf artist
Stanley Donwood, British artist
Yvonne Drewry, English artist
Janet Doub Erickson, American printmaker and artist
M. C. Escher, Dutch artist
Bill Fick, American printmaker and illustrator
Folly Cove Designers American design collective
Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian American artist
Helmi Juvonen, American artist
William Kermode, Australian illustrator
Gaga Kovenchuk, Russian artist
Henri Matisse, French painter
Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter
Cyril Edward Power, English artist
Everett Ruess, American painter, printmaker, writer, and poet
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German printmaker and painter
John Shaw, American/Canadian painter and printmaker
Irena Sibley, Australian artist, children's book author, and art teacher
James Blanding Sloan, American printmaker, educator, and theatrical designer
Ethel Spowers, Australian printmaker
Ken Sprague, English artist and activist
Hannah Tompkins, American artist and printmaker
Tom Hazelmyer, American artist
Gwen Frostic, American artist, poet, printmaker, writer

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References

Judging the Authenticity of Prints by The Masters by David Rudd Cycleback. Retrieved: 2011-12-17.
Edwards, Robert W. (2015). Pedro de Lemos, Lasting Impressions: Works on Paper. Worcester, Mass.: Davis Publications Inc. pp. 68–69, 92 notes 370-373. ISBN 9781615284054.

External links

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[1] Judging the Authenticity of Prints by The Masters by David Rudd Cycleback. Retrieved: 2011-12-17.

[edwardsrw-2] Edwards, Robert W. (2015). Pedro de Lemos, Lasting Impressions: Works on Paper. Worcester, Mass.: Davis Publications Inc. pp. 68–69, 92 notes 370-373. ISBN 9781615284054.