Crosshatching is a drawing and printmaking technique that involves the use of parallel lines to convey lifelike depth and shadow. All crosshatching can be divided into two categories: flat and contoured. The former involves only straight lines, which communicate varying degrees of tone. The latter is more difficult to learn but exceedingly satisfying once mastered. In contoured crosshatching, lines respond to the shapes of objects, curving around them as a bracelet curves around a wrist.
While flat crosshatching can certainly be employed to great effect in graphic or abstract compositions, contoured crosshatching is the better choice for capturing the depth and dimension of real subjects. Though it is impossible to pinpoint the earliest example of crosshatching – some variation on this simple approach to shading can be seen in almost all artistic traditions – the technique was refined and popularised in medieval Europe. At the time, visual art was being produced and disseminated on an utterly unprecedented scale. Whereas paintings were still prohibitively expensive for most, and could only be viewed in person, printmaking enabled art to move beyond the domain of the elite and to infiltrate the everyday lives of the middle and lower classes. Printmakers (and their apprentices) were responsible for producing an image – be it a carved wood block or an engraved metal plate – which could be printed over and over again, making this an exceedingly cost-effective process.
The challenge of printmaking
