An impression is a single copy of a print pulled from a plate or woodblock. A state is an edition of a print created when an artist adds or subtracts work from the printing surface before producing more impressions. These changes can occur at any point in the plate or block’s printing lives. Minor changes such as damage to the plate, retouching (revisions made to return the plate to its original condition), or reworking (less careful retouching intended to extend a plate’s printing life) are not usually counted as separate states. Impressions can also vary in appearance if the artist applies the ink differently or uses a different kind of paper.
States are usually numbered with Roman numerals to differentiate, and some exhibit clearly visible alterations, such as Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Angel Appearing the Shepherds. The first state of this print, as seen in the British Museum’s impression, is much lighter in tone and appears unfinished, while Middlebury’s impression of the third state presents a darker, more refined version.
Written by Simone Edgar Holmes
Bibliography
Ackley, Clifford S. “Glossary.” In Printmaking in the Age of Rembrandt, 306-307. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1981.
Griffiths, Antony. “Glossary of Print Terminology.” In The Print before Photography: An Introduction to European Printmaking, 1550-1820, 546-47. London: The British Museum, 2018.
