gravură - Universitatea Naţională de Arte

materiality. Moreover, even when we talk about non-figurative art,the surfaces and the shapes produced will have immediate materialcharacteristics, such as the expressive quality of traces, the vibrationof color spots, the tactile quality of texture, all of which represent aconcrete substance, which is both persuasive and touching. Hencewe can talk about the concept of materiality as a concept in itselfof the plastic sign not only as esthetic pleasure generated by thismateriality, but also as a significant potential of its fundamentalattributes. In this way, the painted line can suggest sincerity as wellas firmness, a well-chosen tone of color can remind us of refinedtastes; an engraved trace can reveal not only the artist’s skill, butalso his character.During its long history, printmaking cannot be separated fromprinting. Therefore, this dissertation will examine the interferencesas well as the individual moments of the techniques of printmakingand printing. At the same time, this thesis will present the definitionof such techniques of printmaking as an artistic genre in itself.During six centuries, printmaking has oscillated between artand craft, sometimes being accepted only as a field of support oraid. Nevertheless, printmaking has had the tendency to and hassucceeded to establish itself since Renaissance as a distinct and wellregardedgenre, which included prestigious artists; some of themhave dedicated themselves exclusively to it.From the beginning up until late Renaissance, printmakingwas entirely in the service of printing, replacing it by each act ofmultiplication of a text, and especially by that of an image, whichmeant PRINT. In equal terms, each act of printing as multiplication208Florin STOICIU