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E N G 299

laying the principal grounds, and sketching the chief shades in acareless manner or with a few strokes; and he may finish it at lei-sure with finer and thinner strokes to the extremities. When ar-chitecture or sculpture is to be represented, except it be old andruinous buildings, the work ought not to be made very black;because, as edifices are commonly constructed either of stone orwhite marble, the colour, being reflected on all sides, dor's notproduce dark or brown shades as in other substances. Whitepoints must not be put in the pupils of the eyes of figures, as in en-gravings after paintings ; nor must the hair or beard be representedas in nature, which makes the locks appear flowing in the air; be-cause in sculpture there can he no such appearances. In engrav-ing cloths of different kinds, linen should be done with finer andcloser lines than other sorts, and be executed with single strokes.Woollen cloth should he engraved wide, in proportion to thecoarseness and fineness of the stuff, and with only two strokes; andwhen the strokes are crossed, the second should he smaller than thefirst, and the third than the second. Shining stuffs, which are gene-rally of silk or satin, and which produce flat and broken folds, shouldhe engraved more hard and more straight than others, with one ortwo strokes, as their colours are bright or brown ; and between thefirst strokes others smaller must be joined, w hich is called inter-lining. Velvetai'd plush are expressed in the same manner, amishould always be interlined. Metals, as armour, Sec. are also re-presented by interlining, or by clear single strokes. In architec-ture, the strokes which form the rounding object should tend tothe point of sight; and when whole columns occur, it is proper toproduce the efl’ect as much as possible by perpendicular strokes.If a gross stroke is put, it should heat right angles, and wider andthinner than the first stroke. In engraving mountains, the strokesought to he frequently discontinued and broken, for sharp andcraggy objects; and they should be straight, in the lozenge man-ner, and accompanied with long points or dots; and rucks shouldbe represented by cross strokes more square and even. Objectsthat are distant towards the horizon should be kept very tender,and slightly charged with black. Waters that are calm and stillare best represented by strokes that are straight, and parallel tothe horizon, interlined with those that are finer; omitting suchplaces as, in consequence of gleams of light, exhibit the shiningappearance of water; and the form of objects reflected from thewater, at a small distance upon it, or on the bank- of the water,arc expressed by the same strokes, retouching more strongly orfaintly as occasion may require, and even by some that are per-pendicular. For agitated waters, as the waves of the sea, the firststrokes should follow the figure of the waves, and may be inter-lined, and the cross strokes ought to be very lozenge. In cas-cades, the strokes should follow the fall, and he interlined. In en-graving clouds, the graver should sport when they appear thickand agitated, in turning every wav according to their form and theiragitation. It tlie clouds are dark, so that two strokes are neces-sary, they should be crossed more lozenge than the figures, andthe second strokes should he rather wider than the first. '1 he flatclouds, that are lost insensibly in the clear skv, should he madeby strokes parallel to the horizon, and a little waving ; if secondstrokes are required, they should be more or less lozenge; andwhen they are brought to the extremity, the hand should be solightened that they may form no outline. The flat and clear skvis represented by parallel and straight strokes, w ithout the leastturning. In landscapes, the trees, rocks, earth, and herbage,should be etched as much as possible; nothing should be left forthe graver but perfecting, softening, and strengthening. The drypoint produces an effect more delicate than the graver can, andma> be used to great advantage in linen, skies, distances, ice, andotten m water, especially in small engravings. In most things itis proper to etch the shadows, only leaving the lighter tints tor thedry paint, graver, Sec. To imitate drawings with chalk, a mixtureis Usea of varied and irregular dots, made more or less soft, so asto resemble the grain produced by the chalks on paper. Everystroke of the chalks on paper maybe considered as an infinitenumber of adjoining points, which are the small eminences of thegram of the paper touched by the chalk in passing over it. Whenthe copper-plate has been polished and varnished, or properlyprepared, as in the common method of engraving, the drawing tohe imitated may be counterprovcd on the varnish of the plate. Ifnus cannot be conveniently done, black lead pencil, or red chalk,

must be applied to varnished or oiled paper; and by means of thischalk or pencil, all the traces of the original will be transmitted tothe varnish. The outlines of the object must he formed in the etchingby points, whose magnitude and distance must be determined bythe quality of the strokes in the original drawing. The artist maybe provided with pointed instruments or needles of various sizeswith single or double points. In forming the light and shade, heshould distinguish between those hatches which serve to txpressthe perspective of the object, and those which form the ground ofit. The principal hatches should be more strongly marked; themiddle tints, if etched, should be marked light! v, or they may beleft till the varnish is taken off, and be perfected with a greater de-gree of softness, by needles, or the point of the graver, as the ori-ginal may require. There is nothing peculiar in the method ofapplying the aquafortis in this kind of engraving; but it may beobserved, that it should not be left so long as to corrode the lighterparts too much ; if the light parts are sufficiently corroded, theymay T be stopped out with turpentine, varnish, and lamp black,mixed together, and the aquafortis may be applied again to thestronger parts; for it will be no detriment to them, if the pointswhich compose the shade burst into one another, provided the ex-treme be avoided. When the work of the aquaiortis is finished,and the varnish taken oil' the copper, it will be necessary in thesoftest parts, such as the flesh, Sec. to interstipple with properpoints; as an effect will be thus produced more delicate than it ispossible to attain w'ith the aquafortis only; and (lie strongest shadeswill require additional strength to be given them with small strokesof the graver. Drawings made with chalks of different colours,may he imitated in this manner, if a plate be provided for evervcolour. This method of engraving is intended to form a kind ofdeception, so that the connoisseur may not he able, on the firstinspection, to distinguish between the original drawing, and theengraving, made in imitation of it: aiul it is extremely useful, asit serves to multiply copies of drawings left by those masters whoexcelled in the use of ( balks, and thus to form and improve youngartists, who could not have access to the originals in the practiceof draw ing.

Engraving on Glass , is performed by the same process asetching on copper; only using the fluoric instead of the nitrousacid. See Etching.

Engraving on Precious Stones , is the representing of fi-gures, or devices in relievo, or indented, on divers kinds of hardpolished stones. The ancients excelled in this art; there beingdivers antique agates, cornelians, and onyxes, which surpass anything of that kind the moderns have produced. Pyrgoleles amongthe Greeks, and Dioscorides under the first emperors of Home,are the most eminent engiavers we read 01 : the lonuer was so es-teemed by Alexander, that he forbad any body else to engrave hishead; and Augustus ’s bead, engraven by the latter, was deemedso beautilul, that the succeeding emperors chose it for their seal.All the polite arts having been buried under the ruins of the Ro-man empire, the art of engraving on stones met with the samefate, it was retrieved in Italy at the beginning of the 15th cen-tury, wlirn one John of Florence, and after him Dominic of Milan ,performed works of (his kind no way to be despised. From thatlime, such sculptures became common in Europe , and particularly'in Germany , whence great numbers were sent into other countries:but they came short of the beauty of those of the ancients, especi-ally those on precious stones; for, as to those on crystal, the Ger-mans, and after their example the French , &c. have succeededwell enough. In this branch of engraving, either the diamond oremery may be used. The diamond, which is the hardest of allstones, is only cut bv Itself, or with its own matter. The firstthing to be done in tins branch of engraving is, to cement tworough diamonds to the ends of two sticks big enough to hold themsteady in the hand, and to rub or grind them against each othertill they be brought to the form desired. The dust or powderthat is rubbed off, serves afterwards to polish them, which is performed with a kind of mill that turns a wheel of soft iron. 'Tirediamond is fixed in a brass dish; and, thus applied to the wheel,is covered with diamond-dust, mixed up with the oil of olives;and when the diamond is to be cut facet-wise, they apply first oneface, then another, to t’ e wheel. 'Rubies, sapphires, anil topazes,are cut and formed the same way on a copper wheel, and po-lished with tripoli diluted in water. As to agate,s, ametlnsts.