Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a

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 techni ...

technique, a variant of

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in 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 t ...

in which a sheet of

linoleum Linoleum, sometimes shortened to lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), pine resin, ground cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canva ...

(sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, s ...

or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing can be done by hand or with a

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

Technique

Since the material being carved has no directional grain and does not tend to split, it is easier to obtain certain artistic effects with lino than with most woods, although the resultant prints lack the often angular grainy character of woodcuts and

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an i ...

s. Lino is generally diced, much easier to cut than wood, especially when heated, but the pressure of the printing process degrades the plate faster and it is difficult to create larger works due to the material's fragility. Linocuts can also be achieved by the careful application of arts on the surface of the lino. This creates a surface similar to a soft ground

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

and these caustic-lino plates can be printed in either a

, intaglio or a viscosity printing manner. Colour linocuts can be made by using a different block for each colour as in a woodcut, as the artists of the Grosvenor School frequently did, but, as

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is ...

demonstrated, such prints can also be achieved using a single piece of linoleum in what is called the 'reductive' print method. Essentially, after each successive colour is imprinted onto the paper, the artist then cleans the lino plate and cuts away what will not be imprinted for the subsequently applied colour.Judging the Authenticity of Prints by The Masters
by David Rudd Cycleback. Retrieved: 2011-12-17. Due to ease of use, linocut is widely used in schools to introduce children to the art of printmaking, using it to complete many tasks in the art lesson rather than going straight for the pencil and eraser; similarly, non-professional artists often cut lino rather than wood for printing. Nevertheless, in the contemporary art world the linocut is an established professional print medium, because of its extensive use by the artists of the Grosvenor School, followed by Pablo Picasso and

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...

Emergence of the technique in America

In 1911 “linoleum art” was first displayed in New York City by the Czech émigré Vojtěch Preissig. In his publications on linocuts (1926–29) the respected American printmaker, Pedro Joseph de Lemos, simplified the methods for art schools and introduced new techniques for color linocuts, including the printing of the key block first. The first large-scale colour linocuts made by an American artist were created ca. 1943–45 by Walter Inglis Anderson, and exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum in 1949.

Selected artists

Josef Albers Josef Albers (; ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born artist and educator. The first living artist to be given a solo show at MoMA and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he taught at the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College ...

, German artist * Peeter Allik, Estonian artist *

Valenti Angelo Valenti Angelo (1897-1982) (variant name Valenti Michael Angelo) was an Italian-American printmaker, illustrator and author, born June 23, 1897 in Massarosa, Italy. He immigrated to the United States, living first in New York City then sett ...

, American printmaker and illustrator * Walter Inglis Anderson American artist * Sybil Andrews English-Canadian artist * Hans Anton Aschenborn, German painter * Georg Baselitz, German artist * Torsten Billman, Swedish artist * Emma Bormann, Austrian printmaker and painter *

Gail Brodholt Gail Brodholt is an English artist known primarily for her oil paintings and linocut prints. She lives in Beckenham and works in Woolwich, both in South East London. Background Brodholt studied at the School of Fine Art at Kingston University. ...

, English artist * Horace Brodzky, Australian/British artist *

Angel Botello In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

, Spanish-Puerto Rican artist
Chris Bourke
British artist * Carlos Cortez, American poet and artist * David Call, American Deaf artist * Stanley Donwood, British artist * Yvonne Drewry, English artist *

Janet Doub Erickson Janet Ann Doub Erickson (June 29, 1924 – September 3, 2021) was an American graphic artist and writer who popularized linoleum-block and woodblock printing in the post-World War II period. She was a co-founder of the Blockhouse of Boston, an in ...

, American printmaker and artist * M. C. Escher, Dutch artist * Bill Fick, American printmaker and illustrator * Folly Cove Designers American design collective * Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian American artist *

Helmi Juvonen Helmi Dagmar Juvonen (January 17, 1903 – October 17, 1985) was an American artist active in Seattle, Washington. Although she worked in a wide variety of media, she is best known for her prints, paintings, and drawings. She is associated with ...

, American artist * William Kermode, Australian illustrator * Gaga Kovenchuk, Russian artist *

, French painter *

, Spanish painter *

Cyril Edward Power Cyril Edward Power (17 December 1872 – 25 May 1951) was an English artist best known for his linocut prints, long-standing artistic partnership with artist Sybil Andrews and for co-founding the Grosvenor School of Modern Art in London in 1925. ...

, English artist * Everett Ruess, American painter, printmaker, writer, and poet * Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German printmaker and painter * John Shaw, American/Canadian painter and printmaker *

Irena Sibley Irena Sibley (16 June 1943 – 29 March 2009), born Irena Justina Pauliukonis, was an Australian artist, writer, illustrator of children's books, and art teacher. Personal life Her mother Anele and father Zenonas Pauliukonis fled communist-o ...

, Australian artist, children's book author, and art teacher * James Blanding Sloan, American printmaker, educator, and theatrical designer * Ethel Spowers, Australian printmaker * Ken Sprague, English artist and activist * Hannah Tompkins, American artist and printmaker * Tom Hazelmyer, American artist *

Greg Mathias Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...

, French artist * Gwen Frostic, American artist, poet, printmaker, writer * Batukhan Baimen, Kazakh artist

References

External links

Large scale hand printed linocut video

Explanation of art term 'Linocut' on Tate Gallery website
{{Authority control Printmaking Relief printing Woodcuts fi:Taidegrafiikka#Linoleikkaus

Technique

Emergence of the technique in America

Selected artists

See also

References

Further reading

External links