Peintre-graveur () is a term probably invented and certainly popularized by the great scholar of the
old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmakin ...
,
Adam Bartsch (Johann Adam Bernhard von Bartsch: 1757 - 1821, both Vienna). The term, meaning "painter-engraver", is intended to distinguish between
printmaker
Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...
s, whether working in
engraving,
etching or
woodcut, who designed images with the primary purpose of producing a print, and those who essentially copied in a print medium a composition by another, to produce what is known as a "reproductive print", or who produced only essentially non-artistic work in print form, such as
maps for example.
"Painter-engraver" is sometimes used in English. Alternative terms for the work of a Peintre-graveur are "artist's print", "original print", "graphic art". "Art print" now tends to mean a reproduction of any work of art.
Bartsch's great catalogue of
old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmakin ...
s, published in Vienna in 21 volumes in 1803-21,was called "Le Peintre Graveur". It has been reprinted five times, most recently in 1982. ''The Illustrated Bartsch'' (
Abaris Books, New York) is an English language illustrated version (the original was unillustrated by technological necessity) which released the first volume in 1978, and is projected to include at least 164 volumes. Most of the picture volumes are published; the accompanying text volumes, in effect complete new
catalogues raissonés, are taking longer. It (currently Abaris Books has granted a non-exclusive license for many of the images found in ''The Illustrated Bartsch'' and they are available online to colleges and other institutions subscribing to
ARTstor
Artstor is a nonprofit organization that builds and distributes the Digital Library, an online resource of more than 2.5 million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences, and Shared Shelf, a Web-based cataloging and image manageme ...
.
Sources
*Antony Griffiths, ''Prints and Printmaking'', p 128 etc., British Museum Press (in UK), 2nd edn, 1996
*A Hyatt Mayor, ''Prints and People'', Metropolitan Museum of Art/Princeton, 1971, no.,
*Dossi, Barbara; ''Albertina, The History of the Collection and its Masterpieces'', Prestel, 1999, {{ISBN, 3-7913-2340-7
See also
*
Old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmakin ...
*
Adam von Bartsch
Johann Adam Bernhard Ritter von Bartsch (17 August 1757 – 21 August 1821) was an Austrian scholar and artist. His catalogue of old master prints is the foundation of print history, and he was himself a printmaker practicing engraving and e ...
*
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...
Printmaking