What is the engraving of the line?

Liner engraving, also known as Gravide, is a traditional form of engraving, in which the line is carved into a metal surface for decoration or for printing. This is done using a tool called Burin or Graver. In a modern point of view, it is primarily used to describe printed commercial or book illustrations from the 19th and early 20th century. The liner engraving was first used by early Aztecs, who interconnected decorative elements on their instruments and further developed in Italy and Germany in the 15th century. The sheet tool cuts very fine furrows into the metal plate, which is later filled with ink and printed. Originally, copper plates were used for this process because they were softer and engraved more easily. Due to the softness of copper boards, only 100 to 150 copies of the plate could have been created. At the beginning of the 19th century, copper was replaced by harder steel plates that allowed greater line accuracy and a larger number of prints.

The techniques used for engraving the line have mostly remained unchanged from the times of the Aztecs to the 15th century. At this time, Andrea Mantegna began using parallel lines at growing intervals to create shading. In addition, Martin Schongauer and Albrecht Dürer in Germany used cross hatching and curved lines to create a greater feeling of volume. Schongauer and Dürer, who were students of the Nuremberg School in Germany, also began using line engraving to create technically skilled works of art, which could then constantly reproduce. This quickly spread through Europe using Peter Paul Rubens in France and Raphael in Italy. By the end of the 16th century, the engraving line was a common medium used by Artists and craftsmen to illustrate books and news, as well as to create reproducible works of art.

The process of engraving the line is a lengthy process that might require the completion of weeks or months, depending onThose about the complexity of the engraved image. At the end of the 19th century, there was a pressure on a larger number of illustrated books that were created cheap and faster. Larding metal boards with acid has become a more favorable method due to the speed and lightness with which images could be created. This phenomenon, combined with the onset of photographic techniques, caused the worsening of the line as an illustrative medium.