Photogravure

フォトグラヴュール / 19th century–present / Technique / Intaglio Printing

A photomechanical intaglio method that transfers a photographic image to a plate and prints it in ink. Fine detail and apparently continuous tones acquire the character of paper and ink. It is distinct from a silver photograph, planographic collotype and the industrial context of rotary gravure.

Photogravure — Alfred Stieglitz, Kitty Stieglitz, Central Park, New York, 1901 — photogravure, Metropolitan Museum of Art — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 — Alfred Stieglitz, Kitty Stieglitz, Central Park, New York, 1901 — photogravure, Metropolitan Museum of Art — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · CC0

At a glance

Visual cues

Photographically derived detail
Rich printing-ink blacks
Fine grain carrying tonal changes
Plate image in relation to paper

Best used for

Exhibitions and teaching that compare Photogravure with neighbouring print techniques
Publications studying lines, tones and paper through documented works

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Dictionary entry

Type: Keep lettering in the work separate from added labels; place medium, artist and date outside the image.
Composition: Compare blacks, midtones and highlights so that dark areas retain useful detail.
Material: Check the collection medium record and the paper and ink; do not infer materials from screen colour alone.
Caution: A sepia palette or plate border alone proves nothing. Check the recorded printing process and distinguish later reproductions.
Further study: Alfred Stieglitz — photogravures / Photographic image transferred to intaglio / MoMA — Bourgeois photogravures

Related entries

Collotype (コロタイプ)Shared effects: Calm.Compare Photogravure and Collotype
Aquatint (アクアチント)Same Intaglio Printing lineage.Compare Photogravure and Aquatint

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Link: https://indexstyle.org/styles/photogravure
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