Page 170 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

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PRINTMAKING
Rashid Amin

The Origin and Development of the Art of Printmaking
There is scope for some discussion on the origin of printmaking before examining the
subject of the prints of Bangladesh. Printmaking as a medium is different from all
other media of visual art because it is an indirect medium. Etching a wooden slab or
metal plate, coating it with ink or painting on a stone and then taking a print on paper
is the primary characteristic of prints. In other words, a print is a work of art produced
through the medium of printing. It is not known where, when and how the first print
of the world was made, but it may be presumed that the print originated at a developed
stage of the intellectual advancement of man. The method of tracking game by
following footprints can also be considered to be a way of using prints which opened
up the intellectual consciousness of man. Even the print of the hand of the cave man
may be termed an early print.
The prints that we now execute are of a much more advanced stage. The advancement
in technology which has occurred with the development of science and knowledge has
also influenced printmaking. The most ancient method of printmaking has evolved to
take the form that it has today and in time has been recognized as a medium of art of
classical stature. In the early stages the process of printmaking was essentially
invented out of human necessity. It was established as a separate medium of art much
later. In the beginning seals made of clay or carved in stones were the instruments for
marking an article and wooden blocks came in to currency for the purpose of printing
cloth. As the method of printing on cloth with wooden blocks is a most ancient one,
1
likewise seals too are a most ancient printing process. It was, however, the Chinese
who first invented the process of taking prints by applying a coat of ink. 2
According to official Chinese records, it is known that paper was first discovered in
AD 105. The effort to print on paper began simultaneously. But before the seventh
century no marked success is noticed in this area. At first, it was attempted to take
prints in the same process as taking impressions of seals. Later the process of taking
prints through rubbing was invented. This discovery brought a considerable
advancement in the medium of prints. ‘The oldest surviving prints made with rubbing
method are Buddhist charms, printed and distributed in Japan in AD 770 . . .. Pictorial
woodcuts may have appeared in the east some time before the eighth century. The