CHAPTER III
METAL ENGRAVING—THE INVENTION—EARLY ENGRAVERS—NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS—A PROGRESSIVE REVIEW
"The influence of the graver is so great and extensive that its productions have constantly been the delight of all countries of the world and of all seasons of life."
Metal Engraving—The Invention.—The engraving of metal plates for pictorial reproduction was a direct development of ornamental engraving. The Italian Niello work of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was chiefly applied to the embellishment of metal ornaments and utensils with elaborate engravings. To intensify their effect, the designs were filled in with a black pigment known as Niello, L. Nigellus—Black. Hence the name by which the process was generally known. Niello work was practised chiefly by gold and silversmiths, and it is recorded that one of these, Finiguerra by name, was filling up the lines of the engraving with black composition in the usual way when he accidentally spilled some hot wax over the plate. It rapidly cooled and hardened, and on scaling off bore a distinct black impression of the engraving. Quick to perceive the importance of his discovery, Finiguerra promoted a few experiments which ultimately led to a full realisation of his hopes. There is yet another account of the metamorphosis of metal engraving which, if true, reflects much more credit upon Finiguerra than the accidental discovery already described. To obtain a proof of their work, the Florentine metal-workers covered the ornamentation with some fine plastic material. It was then a simple matter to convert the impression into a mould, which they filled with melted sulphur. The casts, when hard, formed exact replicas of the engravings, and afterwards, when the incised lines were filled with a black pigment, probably Niello, they presented an effective record of the original work. It is not by any means improbable that Finiguerra made his discovery when making such a cast.
It is a noteworthy fact that the idea of producing impressions from engraved metal plates was not, as might readily be imagined, a development of wood engraving or of the then well-known method of printing from engraved wood blocks. It was a fortuitous discovery, and probably the direct result of an accident. The true importance of this transition, i.e. Niello work to engraving as a reproductive art, is seldom fully appreciated. It was a momentous change, bristling with possibilities, which subsequent developments amply proved. The time was peculiarly propitious. The beneficent influence of the Renaissance was at its flood, and a feverish spirit of progress swept over Europe. The imitative instinct inherent in mankind reasserted itself with an irresistible intensity, and new forms of pictorial expression were eagerly sought after. The art of engraving provided a medium for the extension of the artist's fame and the popularising of his creations. It rapidly gained favour, and its ultimate development and expansion fully justified the interest it aroused.
Early Engravers.—Baccio Baldine, another Florentine goldsmith, quickly realised the value of Finiguerra's discovery, and endeavoured to produce engraved plates for printing purposes. Being a somewhat indifferent designer, his first efforts were not very successful. He was afterwards assisted by Sandio Botticelli, and this partnership was the first clear indication of progress in the art. These two engravers undertook the illustration of an edition of Dante's works, in which the chief feature was to be an original headpiece for each canto. They accomplished some meritorious work in connection therewith, but never quite fulfilled their task.
Some impressions from engraved plates were exhibited in Rome about this time, and attracted the attention of the painter Andrea Mantegna. He was so impressed with these examples of the new art that he determined to reproduce some of his own pictures in a like manner. Mantegna's engravings were not in any way remarkable, yet they were received with considerable enthusiasm by his countrymen and by artists in various parts of Europe.
Marc Antonio Raimondi was another famous Italian engraver of this period. He first became notorious through copying some of A. Durer's designs in the exact style affected by that great artist. He also added Durer's signature to his piracies, and in other ways emphasised the imitation.
It is doubtful whether he ever realised the gravity of the deception he was guilty of, for he took no pains to conceal the fact from his fellow artists. Apart from this, however, Raimondi was a fine engraver. He reproduced a number of Raphael's pictures under that artist's direct supervision, all of which show distinct traces of the great master's influence. Raimondi engraved between three and four hundred plates.