Monotype by Jules Henri Lengrand

Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The image is then transferred onto a sheet of paper by pressing the two together, usually using a printing-press. Monotypes can also be created by inking an entire surface and then, using brushes or rags, removing ink to create a subtractive image, e.g. creating lights from a field of opaque colour. The inks used may be oil based or water based. With oil based inks, the paper may be dry, in which case the image has more contrast, or the paper may be damp, in which case the image has a 10 percent greater range of tones.

Monotyping produces a unique print, or monotype; most of the ink is removed during the initial pressing. Although subsequent reprintings are sometimes possible, they differ greatly from the first print and are generally considered inferior. These prints from the original plate are called "ghost prints." Prints made by pressing the prints onto another surface, effectively making the print into a plate, is called a "cognate". Stencils, watercolor, solvents, brushes, and other tools are often used to embellish a monotype print. Monotypes can be spontaneously executed and with no previous sketch.

History[link]

Monotype by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, probably a second impression

The monotype process was invented by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-64), an Italian painter and etcher who was also the first artist to produce brushed sketches intended as finished and final works of art (rather than as studies for another work). He is the only Italian to have invented a printmaking technique.^[1] He began to make monotypes in the 1640s, normally working from black to white, and produced over twenty surviving ones, over half of which are set at night (Theseus finding the Arms of his Father, 1643).

William Blake developed a different technique, painting on millboard in egg tempera to produce both new works and coloured impressions of his prints and book illustrations. Few other artists used the technique until Degas, who made several, often working on them further after printing (Beside the Sea, 1876-7); Pissarro also made several. Paul Gaugin used a variant technique involving tracing, later taken up by Paul Klee. In the twentieth century the technique became more popular.

Comparing monotypes to monoprints[link]

Historically, the terms Monotype and Monoprint were often used interchangeably^[2]. More recently, however, these are now used to refer to very similar types of printmaking which are somewhat different. Both involve the transfer of ink from a plate to the paper, canvas, or other surface that will ultimately hold the work of art. In the case of monotypes, the plate is a featureless plate. It contains no features that will impart any definition to successive prints. The most common feature would be the etched or engraved line on a metal plate. In the absence of any permanent features on the surface of the plate, all articulation of imagery is dependent on one unique inking, resulting in one unique print.

Monoprints, on the other hand, now refers to the results of plates that have permanent features on them. Monoprints can be thought of as variations on a theme, with the theme resulting from some permanent features being found on the plate—lines, textures—that persist from print to print. Variations are confined to those resulting from how the plate is inked prior to each print. The variations are endless, but certain permanent features on the plate will tend to persist from one print to the next.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Monotype

• www.monoprints.com a website to learn the difference between monoprints and monotypes
• Monoprinting
• Paper marbling

References[link]

• Reed, Sue Welsh & Wallace, Richard, Italian Etchers of the Renaissance and Baroque, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1989,pp 262–5,ISBN 0-87846-306-2 or 304-4 (pb)

External links[link]

• Video explaining the monotype process

Chris Gollon (born 1953) is a British painter.

Gollon was born in London, England. He still lives near London, working in his studio in Surrey. He regularly exhibits in London at IAP Fine Art.^[1]

In 2000, Gollon gained a major commission from the Church of England for fourteen Stations of the Cross paintings for a historic London church designed by Sir John Soane. Gollon was a controversial choice, since he is not a practising Christian. In order to carry out the commission, and for theological matters, he agreed to collaborate with Fr Alan Green, Rector of St John on Bethnal Green.^{[2][page needed]}

In 2001, a special exhibition of his work was held at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames because until 2005 Gollon had a connection with the river; having a studio on a private island in the Thames near Hampton Court. In 2001, the museum, aided by the Victoria and Albert Museum, acquired a major work by Gollon entitled Big Fish Eat Little Fish, a centrepiece of the exhibition.^[3]

His painting of the fourth Station of the Cross (Jesus meets his Mother) was exhibited in St Paul's Cathedral in 2004. In the same year, he began painting images of Albert Einstein, before the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death in 2005 and before the centenary in 2005 of the General Theory of Relativity. Partially inspired by a lyric in Bob Dylan's ballad 'Desolation Row', Chris Gollon painted 'Einstein & The Jealous Monk'. This painting was subsequently purchased by the Huddersfield Art Gallery in West Yorkshire, where it hangs in the museum's permanent collection alongside Sir Jacob Epstein's bust of Einstein, and works by Francis Bacon and L.S. Lowry.

In 2007, Chris Gollon was commissioned to paint the Henley Regatta by Paul Mainds, Chief Executive & Trustee of the award-winning River & Rowing Museum. The museum's collection holds Raoul Dufy's painting 'Regatta at Henley'. Since the Henley Royal Regatta has no silver or bronze medals, only win or lose, Gollon decided to focus with great empathy on the losing crew.^[4] The final work entitled 'Gollon At Henley' was unveiled in 2008, and is now displayed along with works by Dufy, Piper and Trevelyan in the museum's permanent collection.^[5]

A chance meeting in 2005 between British artist Chris Gollon and film makers JABOD began a creative journey, leading to the creation of a neologism, and a new cinematic art work: Kaleidomorphism. Fifteen years of Gollon's paintings and imagery, together with music that he has selected (including Calexico and Paolo Conte), combine with JABOD's design, rhythm and effects to create a unique film installation of 20 minutes length.

In 2009, he was invited to become a Fellow and First Artist in Residence at the Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University, where he took part in the Being Human research project with some of the world's leading academic thinkers. He produced 16 paintings in 10 weeks on the Being Human theme, all of which are reproduced in the catalogue 'BEING HUMAN new paintings by Chris Gollon', published by Durham University.^[6]

Also in 2009, after nine years in the making, Gollon's epic series of paintings of the Fourteen Stations of the Cross were installed in the Church of St John on Bethnal Green in East London. They were blessed and by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres in March 2009. In the same month British novelist Sara Maitland's book 'Stations of the Cross', wholly inspired by and featuring Gollon's paintings, was published (Continuum, London & New York). The book also contains a text by Fr Alan Green about the story of the commission and his personal collaboration with the artist.^[7] To bring the story closer, Gollon used his own son as the model for Jesus and his daughter as Mary, and Fr Alan Green as Nicodemus. Gollon's Fourteen Stations of the Cross are site-specific and permanently installed. They are both an active aid to worship and also make the Church of St John on Bethnal Green a visitor attraction in East London.^[8]

In 2010, art historian Tamsin Pickeral's book 'Chris Gollon: Humanity in Art' on Chris Gollon's life and work was published by Hyde & Hughes. It features 180 illustrations of his paintings, and tells the story of his life and work to 2010, including chapters on his Stations of the Cross and the Being Human series of paintings. The book is endorsed on the cover by Bill Bryson OBE, international author and Chancellor, Durham University.^[9]

In December 2010, Chris Gollon's paintings 'Jesus As the Man of Sorrows' and 'Mater Dolorosa' ^[10] were shown in the exhibition 'Commission' at Wallspace gallery, London, a survey exhibition of the last 40 years of major religious commissions for public spaces, which included work by Henry Moore, Anthony Gormley, Chris Gollon and Tracey Emin. A book entitled 'Contemporary Art in British Churches', published by Art & Christianity Enquiry was published to accompany the exhibition. ^[11]

In January 2011, the British Museum acquired 'Magdalene' an etching by Chris Gollon for its permanent collection. The work was also featured in Tamsin Pickeral's book 'Humanity in Art' (p.243). ^[12]Chris Gollon is Artist in Residence at St Mary's College, Durham University, from April to June 2011. He is currently working on a series of paintings on the theme of Love.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chris Gollon website
• IAP Fine Art information
• Artbank information