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The original print
The original print may be differentiated from
the interpreted print as it is conceived and
carried out directly by the engraver. Good
examples are Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya or Picasso,
who experimented on the printing plate in a
process that sometimes paralleled innovations in
their painting; nevertheless they always
strictly conceived and realised their prints as
graphic work. These artists are at the basis of
the history of printmaking and their creations
and technical innovations are proof of this.
Rembrandt, for example, etched his printing
plates himself and printed his own proofs;
nowadays, however, printing is left to
specialists, as it is no longer considered
necessary that artists take care of this
themselves.
The artist hands the printing plate(s) and “Bon
á Tirer” proofs or master image(s) to the
printing specialist so that a series may be
pulled. Nowadays artists may limit themselves to
giving a sketch to the printer and put him in
charge of engraving and printing it. This causes
doubts, however, as to the originality of an
artistic print. What is more, alternative
techniques and photomechanical and digital means
of reproduction are increasingly used, creating
such exact copies of artistic drawings and
paintings that they may be signed as originals
by the artist; therefore the following question
arises:
What requirements must a print fulfil to qualify
as an original?
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