The art or process of cutting or carving designs into hard surfaces, especially metal or wood for printing. The resulting print or the incised design itself.
From Middle English, from Old French engraver, from en- 'in' plus graver 'to carve,' ultimately from Germanic roots related to 'grave' meaning 'to dig.' The craft evolved from decorating weapons and jewelry to creating reproducible printed images.
Engraving revolutionized the spread of knowledge and culture by making detailed images reproducible for the first time in history - before photography, engraved illustrations were how most people saw depictions of distant places, scientific discoveries, or artistic masterpieces. The technique requires such skill that master engravers can create over 1,000 parallel lines per inch, and the slight variations in line depth and spacing create subtle gradations of tone that rival photography in detail.
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