Improving the image of the princes of prints

Aside from the admiration of a few discerning collectors, prints have never enjoyed as wide a popularity as paintings and drawings. However, an exhibition which opens in the National Gallery of Ireland next week should help to win a broader and more appreciative audience for this medium; the 50 works included range in date from the 1630s to the 1970s. It is reflective of their relatively lowly status that although this institution owns a greater number of prints than anything else, their curator, Jane MacAvock, acknowledges "the print collection was regarded for some time as a minor element in the National Gallery's holdings".

That they were once held in higher regard can be seen from the 18th-century fashion for print rooms, of which the one in Castletown House, Co Kildare, is the finest surviving example in Ireland. This was the period when print collecting was most widespread and the work of the printmaker most highly regarded. Engraving and etching are the best known forms of printing. On a metal plate, an image is either engraved with a tool called a burin, or it is drawn with a sharp needle through a layer of acid-resistant material; in the latter instance, the plate is then immersed in acid, which eats into the metal where it has been exposed by the needle. The print is produced by inking and wiping the plate before passing it face up through a roller press onto the paper, which absorbs the inked image.

Drypoint, mezzotint and aquatint are variations of this technique, while lithography involves ink being rolled onto a greasy waxed image. Once the series, or edition, of prints has been made, traditionally the artist cancels the plate, block or stone by marking across it and therefore attempting to ensure - although not always with success - that no further reproduction is possible.

The skill of printmakers requires them not just to understand the creative process, but also to imagine the finished work. It is this ability which sets the greatest printmakers apart and makes their art so worthy of admiration and collection. From the 17th century, the prints of Rembrandt are especially remarkable, from the 18th century those of Hogarth, Piranesi and Goya. Hogarth and Piranesi are both represented in the National Gallery show, but the examples of Irish printing will obviously be of special interest.

The exhibition not surprisingly offers work by such familiar masters as James Malton and James Barry; the latter throughout his turbulent career recognised that prints offered an ideal means of publicising his paintings. Nathaniel Hone the Elder also used prints for the this end; in the National Gallery show is a mezzotint of his painting showing Francis Grose and Theodosius Forrest masquerading as two friars. The original picture was exhibited in London's Royal Academy (where Hone was one of the original members) in 1770, but had to be altered because it was considered too irreverent. Instead, the artist produced a print of the original painting.

Other artists also created prints from work by Hone; the National Gallery shows an engraving of his portrait of Lord Mountstuart (later Earl of Bute) by Captain William Baillie. Born in Kilbride, Co Carlow and a close friend of Nathaniel Hone, Baillie, according to Strickland, was "considered one of the most accomplished connoisseurs of his time" who "practised engraving in all its forms," including copies after several of Rembrandt's etchings.

Another Irish engraver who produced images of other artist's work was Dublin-born James McArdell; here he is represented by a portrait of the first Earl Harcourt after Benjamin Wilson. McArdell made no less than 38 prints from the paintings of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who is said to have stated, "By this man I shall be immortalised."

Among those from whom McArdell learnt his craft in Dublin was Andrew Miller; his portrait of Dean Swift after Francis Bindon's painting is included in this exhibition. When first produced, the print was advertised as being "universally allowed by the Dean's friends and the best judges to be the most exact likeness of any that hath ever yet been published."

Finally, also worth noting among the Irish prints is a view of the Rutland Fountain opposite the National Gallery in Merrion Square. The original picture had been drawn by John James Barralet, a Dubliner of French descent who emigrated to Philadelphia in 1795; his image of the Rutland Fountain was subsequently engraved by Joseph Constantine Stadler, a little-known printmaker who was originally from Germany.

In addition to the prints already mentioned, the show also contains work by Cruikshank, Gillray, Rowlandson, Matisse and Harry Kernoff. Admission to Highlights of the National Gallery of Ireland's Print Collection is free and the exhibition continues until May 20th.

An accompanying illustrated catalogue written by Jane MacAvock is priced at £5. Anyone interested in learning more about prints or starting a collection ought to visit the two dealers in Dublin who specialise in this medium: the Neptune Gallery, at 41 South William Street, and Caxton's, at 63 Patrick Street.