A Treatise on Etching Part 6

By the same process the whole plate is tidied. It is likely to need it, as it has undoubtedly lost some of its freshness, owing to the abuse to which it was subjected in pa.s.sing through all these processes.

Our young pupil, having executed these several operations, and bitten his retouched plate, submits a proof to my inspection, which I compare with that of the first state (Pls. I^_a_ and I.). Now you see, I say to him, how one state leads to another. You have come up to the harmony of the original; your _second state_ is satisfactory, and so there is no need of having recourse to varnis.h.i.+ng the plate a third time.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate I.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate II.]

CHAPTER V.

ACCIDENTS.

56. =Stopping-out Varnish dropped on a Plate while Biting.=--You are just in time, I continued, to profit by an accident which has happened to me. I dropped some stopping-out varnish on a plate while it was biting; it has spread over some parts which are not yet sufficiently bitten, and of course it is impossible to go on now. I took the ground off the plate, and had this proof pulled. It is unequal in tone, and does not give the modelling which I worked for.

"What are you going to do about it? Is the plate lost?"

57. =Revarnis.h.i.+ng with the Roller for Rebiting.=--Oh, no, indeed, thanks to the _roller for revarnis.h.i.+ng_! My first precaution will be to clean the plate very carefully, first with spirits of turpentine, until the linen does not show the least sign of soiling, and then with bread. Or, having used the turpentine, I might continue the cleaning process with a solution of potash, after which the plate must be washed in pure water.

I then put a little ground, specially prepared for the purpose, on a second plate, which must be scrupulously clean, and not heated; or, better still, I apply the ground directly to the roller itself by means of a palette-knife. I divide this second plate into three parts. By pa.s.sing the roller over the first part, I spread the ground roughly over it; on the second part I equalize and distribute it more regularly; on the third, finally, I finish the operation. By these repeated rollings a very thin layer of ground is evenly spread over all parts of the surface of the roller, and we may now apply it to the plate which is to be rebitten.

To effect this purpose, I pa.s.s the roller over the cold plate carefully and with very slight pressure, repeating the process a number of times and in various directions. This is an operation requiring skill. The ground adheres only to the surface of the plate, without penetrating into the furrows, although it is next to impossible to prevent the filling up of the very finest lines. Having thus spread the ground, and having a.s.sured myself that the lines are all right by the brilliancy of their reflection as I hold the plate against the light, I rapidly pa.s.s a burning paper under the plate. The ground is slightly heated, and solidifies as it cools.

The varnish used in this operation is the ordinary etching-ground in b.a.l.l.s, dissolved in oil of lavender in a bath of warm water. It must have the consistency of liquid cream; if it is too thick, add a little oil of lavender.[12]

Both the plate and the roller must be well protected against dust.

It is not necessary to clean the roller after the operation; only take care to wipe its ends with the palm of your hand, turning it the while, so as to remove the rings of varnish which may have formed there.

If the lines are found closed, too much pressure has been used on the roller; if the ground is full of little holes, the plate has not been cleaned well, and wherever the surface of the copper is exposed the acid will act on it. There is nothing to be done, in both cases, but to wash off the ground with spirits of turpentine, and commence anew.

My plate is now in the same state in which it was when I withdrew it from the bath. I stop out those parts which are sufficiently bitten, and, guided by my proof, I can proceed to continue the biting which was interrupted by the accident.

58. =Revarnis.h.i.+ng with the Roller in Cases of Partial Rebiting.=--You will find this method especially valuable whenever you desire to strengthen pa.s.sages that are weak in tone. And furthermore, having thus revarnished your plate, you may avail yourself of the opportunity of giving additional finish. But if, before revarnis.h.i.+ng, you should have burnished down some over-bitten lines in a pa.s.sage which needs rebiting, you will find that the shallow cavity produced by the burnisher does not take the ground from the roller; such places are easily detected by the brilliant aspect of the copper, and good care must be taken to cover them with ground. Again, if, before proceeding to rebite, you should notice certain pa.s.sages which are strong enough as they are, either because the copper was cut by the point, or because the lines in them are very close, you must cover them up with the brush. The same thing is necessary in the case of the excessively black spots which sometimes manifest themselves in places covered by irregularly crossing lines, and the intensity of which it would be useless to increase still further.

This recommendation is valuable for work requiring precision.

59. =Revarnis.h.i.+ng with the Dabber for Rebiting.=--For partial rebiting the same result may be reached by applying the ground with the dabber.

Heat your plate, and surround the part to be rebitten with a thick coat of ordinary etching-ground. Now heat your dabber, and pa.s.s it over the ground. Finally, when the dabber is thoroughly impregnated with the ground, carry it cautiously and little by little over the part in question, dabbing continually.[13]

60. =Revarnis.h.i.+ng with the Brush for Rebiting.=--Let me also call your attention to an a.n.a.logous case which may arise. If you desire to increase the depth of the biting in a part of the plate in which the lines are rather widely apart, you may cover the plate with the brush and stopping-out varnish, and may pa.s.s the needle through the lines so as to open them again. You can then rebite in the tray, or by using pure acid, or by allowing acid at 20 to stand on the part in question, just as you please.

61. =Rebiting a Remedy only.=--Etchers who are ent.i.tled to be considered authorities will advise you to avoid as much as possible all rebiting by means of revarnis.h.i.+ng, as it results in heaviness, and never has the freshness of a first biting obtained with the same ground. A practised eye can easily detect the difference. Never let the rebiting be more than a quarter of the first biting. Use the process as a remedy, but never count on it as a part of your regular work.

62. =Holes in the Ground.=--Having once taken up the consideration of the little mishaps which may befall the etcher, I shall now show you another plate in which the sky is dotted by a number of minute holes of no great depth (_piques_). This plate has, no doubt, been retouched, and the ground having been badly laid, the acid played mischief with it. It is very lucky that the lines in the sky are widely separated, as otherwise these holes would be inextricably mixed up with them. We can rid ourselves of them by a few strokes of the burnisher, and by rubbing with charcoal-paste and a bit of fine linen. The burnisher alone would give too much polish to the copper; in printing the ink would leave no tint on the plate in these spots, and the traces of the burnisher would show as white marks in the proofs. To avoid this, the copper must be restored to its natural state.[14]

"What would happen," asks another of my pupils, "if these little holes occurred in a sky or in some other closely worked pa.s.sage? Here is a plate in which this accident has befallen some clouds and part of the ground. What shall I do?"

To begin with, let me tell you for your future guidance that this accident would not have happened if you had waited for the drying of the ground with which you covered this sky after you had bitten it. The acid, which never loses an opportunity given it by mismanagement or inattention, worked its way unbeknown to you through the soft varnish in the clouds as well as in the ground, and went on a spree at your expense. Remember that nitric acid is very selfish; it insists that it shall always be uppermost in your mind, and all your calculations must take this demand into account; its powers, creative as well as destructive, are to be continually dreaded; it likes to see you occupy yourself with it continually, watchfully, and with fear. If you turn your back to it, it plays you a trick, and thus it has punished you for neglecting it for a moment.

"Thank you. But you are acting the part of La Fontaine's schoolmaster, who moralized with the pupil when he had fallen into the water."

63. =Planing out Faulty Pa.s.sages.=--And that did not help him out. You are right. Well, you must go to some skilful copper-planer,[15] who will work away at the spoiled part of your plate with sc.r.a.per and burnisher and charcoal, until he has restored the copper to its virgin state; then all you've got to do will be to do your work over again.

"That is rather a blunt way of settling the question. Seeing that we are about to cut into the flesh after this fas.h.i.+on, might it not be as well to have the whole of the sky taken out altogether? I am not satisfied with it, any way."

Certainly. By the same process the planer can remove every thing, up to the outlines of the trees and the figures in your plate; he will cut out any thing you want, and yet respect all the outlines, if you will only indicate your wishes on a proof. In this pa.s.sage, where you see deep holes, sc.r.a.per and charcoal will be insufficient; the planer must, therefore, hammer them out before he goes at the other parts. As regards the little holes in the foreground, since they are not as deep as the lines among which they appear, you can remove them, or at least reduce them, by means of charcoal, without injury to the deeply bitten parts.

You may follow this plan whenever you are convinced that a lowering of tone will do no harm to your first work. In the opposite case, you must either have recourse to the planer, or put up with the accident. If you are not too much of a purist, you will occasionally find these _piques_ productive of a _piquant_ effect, and then you will take good care not to touch them.

"That's a 'point' which you did not mention among the utensils! You have ingenious ways of getting out of a sc.r.a.pe."

We cut out, or cut down, or dig away, whole pa.s.sages, according to necessity. I have seen the half of a plate planed off, because the design was faulty.

64. =Acid Spots on Clothing.=--Here comes one of my friends, who is also an etcher. I wonder what he brings us! His clothing is covered all over with spots of the most beautiful garnet; he ought to have washed them with volatile alkali, which neutralizes the effect of the acid. But he does not mind it.

65. =Reducing Over-bitten Pa.s.sages and Creves.=--"Oh, gentlemen, that is not worth while speaking of! But you must see my plate. I drew a horse from nature, which a whole swamp-ful of leeches might have disputed with me. But I do believe it escaped the _biting_ of these animals only to succ.u.mb to mine. Judge for yourselves!"

The fact of the matter is, that you have killed it with acid. There is nothing left of it, but an informal ma.s.s, ten times over-bitten.

Fortunately there is no lack of black ink at the printer's! It is a veritable Chinese shadow, and looks as if the horse had gone into mourning for itself. However, although the carca.s.s is lost, I hope you may be able to save some of the members. The wounds are deep and broad; but we can try a remedy _in extremis_: first of all, your horse will have to stand an attack of _charcoal_; if it survives this, we shall subject it to renewed and ferocious _bitings_. All this puzzles you.

Therefore, having treated your beast to the charcoal, and having had a last proof taken, you place the latter before you, and re-cover your plate with a solid coat of varnish. With a somewhat coa.r.s.e point you patch those places which show white in the proof, taking care to harmonize your patches with the surrounding parts.

In this way you replace the lines which have disappeared, and then proceed to bite in, doing your best to come as near as possible to the strength of the first biting. The result may not be very marvellous, but it will be an improvement, at all events. If I were in your place, I should not hesitate to begin again. The process which I have just described is best suited to isolated pa.s.sages.

In closely worked and lightly bitten pa.s.sages, blotches (or _creves_) are more easily remedied, as they are less deep. Rub them down with charcoal, very cautiously and delicately, and let the dry point do the rest.

There, now! There's our friend, again, using acid instead of spirits of turpentine to clean his plate! That'll be the end of the animal. It is against the law, sir, to murder a poor, inoffensive beast this wise!

Fortunately we can help him out with several sheets of blotting-paper, in default of water, which we do not happen to have at hand. We were in time! The copper has only lost its polish; a little more charcoal,--and Rosinante still lives.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate III.]

CHAPTER VI.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FLAT BITING, AND BITING WITH STOPPING-OUT.

66. =Two Kinds of Biting.=--Now that you have become familiar with the secrets of biting, I say to my pupil, and are therefore prepared to be on your guard against the accidents to be avoided when you go to work again, I can make clear to you, better than if I had endeavored to do so at the outset, the difference between the two kinds of biting on which rests the whole system of the art of etching, and the distinctive characteristics of which are often confounded. The work thus far done will help you to a more intelligent understanding of this distinction.

As it was impossible to explain to you, at one and the same time, all the resources of the needle as well as those of biting, between which, as I told you before, there exist very intimate relations, I had to choose a general example by which to demonstrate the processes employed, and which would allow me to explain the reasons for these processes.

There are two kinds of biting,--_flat biting_ and _biting with stopping-out_. (See Pl. III.)

These two kinds of biting resemble one another in this, that they involve only one grounding or varnis.h.i.+ng, and consequently only one bath; they differ most markedly in this, that in _flat biting_ the work of the acid is accomplished all over the plate at one and the same time, and with only one immersion in the bath, while in _biting with stopping-out_ there are several successive, or, if you prefer the term, partial bitings, between each of which the plate is withdrawn from the bath, and the parts to be reserved are stopped out with varnish as often as it is thought necessary.

It follows from this, that, with flat biting, the modelling must be done by the needle, using either only one needle, or else several of different thicknesses.

67. =Flat Biting.--One Point.=--With a single needle the values are obtained by drawing the lines closely together in the foreground and nearer distances, or for pa.s.sages requiring strength, and by keeping them apart in the off distances, and in the lighter pa.s.sages of the near distances; furthermore, to obtain a play of light in the same distance, the lines must be drawn farther apart in the lights, and more closely together in the shadows. A single point gives a hint of what we desire to do, but it does not express it. It is undoubtedly sufficient for a sketch intended to represent a drawing executed with pen and ink or with the pencil; but it cannot be successfully employed in a plate which, by the variety of color and the vigor of the biting, is meant to convey the idea of a painting.