ink - Liquid
or paste media containing
pigment(s) and used for
writing, pen and brush drawing,
and printing. Writing
inks, even blacks, are rarely sufficiently permanent
to be used for art purposes. Black drawing ink, known as India
ink in the United States, is especially made for use in permanent
works. When it dries it is water resistant, enabling it to be
gone over with a wash or watercolor.
Also available is a water-soluble
drawing ink; though otherwise permanent, it is capable of being
washed away with water, and may be preferred to water-resistant
ink for certain work. Chinese ink is similar to India ink, although
various minor ingredients are added to enhance its brilliancy,
range of tone, and working qualities. Most colored drawing inks
are not permanent; those made with permanent pigments are usually
labeled with names of pigment ingredients rather than the names
of hues. Printing ink is actually more closely related to paints than to the pen and
brush inks.
Examples of works drawn in ink:
Ercole de' Roberti (Italian, Ferrara, c.1456-1496), Group Portrait: Members of the Este Family, pen, brown ink, 20.5 x 21 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), Landscape with a Horseman, 1656, pen, India ink, 16.8 x 23.4 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. See landscape.
Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754-99), Bamboo, 1790s, six-panel folding screen; ink on paper; no signature; seals: (upper) Nagasawa, (lower) Gyo, Worcester Art Museum, MA. See Edo period and landscape.
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), Portrait of Joseph Roulin, 1888, reed quill pens and brown ink and black chalk, 12 5/8 x 9 5/8 inches (32 x 24.4 cm), J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA. See Post-Impressionism.
Also see acrylic paints, autographic ink, bistre, blot, body color, fluorescent colors, frisket, gouache, heighten, India ink, iron-gall ink, metal nib pen, pen, oil paint, quill pen, reed pen, sepia ink, stain, stain removal, toluene, wash, watercolor, xylene, and zinc white.
