Copper engraving originated in Europe and has a history of more than 600 years. Masters of all ages have been keen on creating copper engravings. From the German Dürer, the Dutch Rembrandt, the Spanish Goya, the French Impressionists Manet, Monet, Sisley, Degas, etc. to the modern Picasso and Matisse, all the masters have left very exquisite works. Copper engraving works.
Copper engravings were introduced to China during the Qianlong period. Emperor Qianlong once ordered the production of copper engravings for meritorious generals and famous battles. Some of these copper engravings have become collections of major museums at home and abroad.
After the liberation of our country, most of the printmaking departments of various art academies have a copper engraving major. However, the production of etchings requires a workshop-like location, and most students do not have such working conditions after graduation. Over time, etchings as a painting genre gradually declined. In Shanghai, there are only a few painters who still stick to the field of copper engraving. One of them is Lu Zhiping of the Shanghai Oil Sculpture Institute
In the 1950s, major art schools across the country established printmaking departments one after another and offered courses in the copperplate painting major, cultivating a group of people in my country who were engaged in copperplate creation and Teaching professionals, they have successively created many exquisite works, thus filling the gaps in our country's art garden. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chinese etchings were at a low ebb. In the early 1980s, with the domestic reform and opening up, a new period of development began. In the past 20 years, exhibitions, publications, and professional academic exchanges have been frequent, and Chinese etchings have gained recognition at home and abroad. It has been well received by artists and collected by major art museums around the world.
It can be predicted that with the continuous development of the art industry in the world, copperplate engravings with Chinese style will keep pace with other types of paintings with their own unique style. Chinese etchings will surely win a higher reputation internationally. Copperplate engraving signs are artistic, elegant and solemn, and have always been considered a precious art painting in the world. Masters of all ages have been keen on the artistic creation of copperplate engravings. From the German Dürer, the Dutch Rembrandt, the Spanish Goya, the French Impressionist Manet, Monet, Cesland, Degas, etc., to the modern Picasso and Matisse, all the masters have left very exquisite works. of copper engravings.
Copying and collecting masterpieces in the form of signboards has important social and historical significance. With the continuous improvement of living standards, people’s demand for art appreciation and art collection will become more and more widespread. , the market for copperplate signage will become bigger and bigger and more prosperous. If you enter early, you will gain the initiative earlier. If you are one step ahead, there will be a "blue ocean" in front of you.
The thickness of the copper engraving signage produced by this technology is between 0.2-1.0mm. It is made of high-grade materials for anti-corrosion. The picture will never fade or change color, and can keep the picture as new for a long time. The picture frame is made of high-quality hardwood (such as Northeast catalpa wood and basswood), which is steamed at high temperature and is not easy to deform or crack. The paint surface of the frame adopts Korean technology and has a realistic imitation mahogany effect, which further highlights the noble, luxurious and grand feeling of the copperplate print. This technology specifically has the characteristics of unique artistic method, fine workmanship, strong three-dimensional sense, lifelike image, luxurious and elegant color, delicate texture and so on.
Copper engraving signage products are widely used in government agencies, military units, schools, hospitals, banks, insurance, securities and other financial institutions, office buildings, offices, home decoration, furnishings, etc. There are dry engraving method, corrosion method, flying dust method, etc., with corrosion method being more common.
Flying ash method: a plate making method for copper plates. Make acid-proof materials such as asphalt, rosin, etc. into powder, put it in a small cloth bag, or put it in a small copper wire sieve, tap it on the top of the plate to make the powder fall evenly on the plate, and heat the plate to make it Powder dots melt and adhere to the layout. The plate is then placed in a nitric acid solution. Any areas where the anti-acid powder dots are not stuck will be corroded and form pits. After removing the anti-acid powder dots, apply ink and print, resulting in a gray with white dots on a black background. If the corrosion time is long, the gray will be darker, and vice versa. If the anti-corrosion paint controls the corrosion time of each part of the picture, many levels of gray can be obtained. Furthermore, due to the thickness and density of the acid-proof powder dots on the layout, the changes in the picture can be more colorful.
There is also a special fly ash box to carry out fly ash, that is, a sealed box contains anti-acid powder, shake the fan to make the powder fly, and then put the plate in, and the powder will fall evenly on the plate. Remove the thickness. This method can make the flying dust fine and even, but it cannot arrange the density and thickness of each part of the ideas according to the needs of the picture.
Soft wax method: a plate-making method for copper engravings. Add grease (generally hard animal wax, such as beef tallow, mutton fat, etc.) to the antiseptic wax (or preservative) to make it soft and sticky. After coating the layout, cover it with a layer of paper with a more obvious paper texture, and then draw on the paper with a pencil or engraving needle. Wherever you paint, the wax sticks to the paper. If you use heavy force, more wax will be removed, and vice versa, less wax will be removed. After drawing, peel off the paper and put it into acid to corrode. The page with more wax adhesion will be corroded first, so the corrosion will be deeper; the page with less wax adhesion will be corroded by the acid through a thin layer of wax, so it will be corroded deeper. Shallow; unpainted areas will not be corroded. After removing the anti-corrosion wax, you can apply ink and print. Due to the weight of the brush used in painting, changes in shades of light and shade occur on the painting. If you draw with a pencil, it will have the effect of a pencil. In addition, different patterns such as linen, silk, and special paper patterns can be embossed on the soft wax to increase the artistic effect of the layout.
Dry engraving: A platemaking method for copper plates. Use an engraving needle to directly engrave on the copper plate or zinc plate, and then it can be printed with ink without corrosion. The engraving needle needs to be a very hard steel needle, or a stylus with a hard stone (or diamond) on the tip. When carving on the page, the copper thorns turn up on both sides or one side of the line, just like turning up soil when plowing a field. During printing, these copper thorns carry the ink, giving each line a soft, seeping feel. Because the lines are carved with force on the copper plate, they are often straight and powerful, thus presenting a special artistic effect that is different from corrosion.
Erosion method: a plate-making method for copper plates. It is to coat the layout with anti-corrosion wax or preservative (generally made of acid-resistant materials such as yellow wax, rosin, asphalt, etc.) to form an anti-corrosion film. Use an engraving needle to draw on the layout, and then place it in a corrosive solution (commonly used nitric acid solution) Medium corrosion. Wherever the anti-corrosion film is scraped away by the engraving needle, it will be corroded and form concave lines. The longer the corrosion time, the deeper the concave lines will be. The plate is formed after removing the anti-corrosion film. When printing, first coat the layout with ink so that all the grooves are filled with ink, then wipe off the ink outside the grooves so that all the grooves are filled with ink, then wipe off the ink outside the grooves, and press on the copper plate machine When printing, the paper is pressed, and the ink in the concave lines absorbs on the paper to form raised lines. Because the lines have thickness, depth, density, and the amount of ink wiped off outside the lines, a multi-layered picture is formed. , a picture with complex tonal changes.