In my next article, I will present a project that uses the techniques you have just practiced to make your own study board.An intaglio technique in printmaking refers to all printing and printmaking techniques that involve making indents or incisions into a plate or print surface which hold the ink when ink is applied to the surface and then wiped clean. The question remains: Is it better to be known, like Michelangelo, for a body of exceptionally masterful work or to be unknown, like Intaglio, for developing a process with which countless others may create their own body of masterful work? You decide. Then, using one side of the parting tool, carve away the wood in the centre of the trough thus joining the two vertical side cuts and forming a square-sided trough.Īn endless number of exercises could be designed to practice carving in the negative form known as intaglio.
You will need to hold your Vgouge on a slight angle to keep the cutting surface running straight down your line. 8 mm size so, my lines were 1 cm apart.) Using care to keep the depth of cut equal, carve a vertical edge on each side of the trough. (In this example, my parting tool was a 12/8, i.e. The exercises are done across the grain of the wood.ĭraw two parallel lines slightly further apart than the size of your parting tool. The seventh exercise is done with a #12/8 parting tool (V-gouge). The first six exercises are performed using a #7/14 gouge however, a #5, 8, or 9 would serve the purpose equally well. The following seven exercises introduce the fundamentals of intaglio. Let’s follow the painters’ example and make a study board. For practicing intaglio in wood, it is also essential that your tools are up to the task by being exceptionally sharp. No special carving tools are required instead, the emphasis must be placed on careful planning and even more careful execution. This creative revelation inspired him to develop his own art form – the process we know today as intaglio.įor a wood carver, the technique of intaglio can be used very effectively either alone or in combination with relief.
On one occasion, after extracting a huge piece of marble for Michelangelo’s use, Intaglio experienced his own epiphany when he noted the exceptional beauty of the freshly cut rock face. Apparently, Intaglio was a worker in a quarry where Michelangelo got his marble. Most people are familiar with the name Michelangelo, but have never heard of his contemporary who indeed was an individual named Intaglio. Oddly enough, few people are aware of the origin of the term intaglio. In other words, intaglio is the process of making a negative image. The art or process of making such designs or figures”.
something, as a gem or stone, ornamented with such a design or figure: opposed to cameo 3. a design or figure carved, incised, or engraved into a hard material so that it is below the surface 2. The New World Dictionary defines intaglio as: “1. As you might guess, ‘chip carving’ is a very specific form of intaglio. Nevertheless, many carvers wittingly or unwittingly have incorporated ‘intaglio’ techniques in their work. In contrast, I would hazard to guess that few of the same carvers are familiar with the opposite of relief, known as intaglio.