Hello art students!
Today we are going to be talking about frottage art. I will share with you my own artworks and experiences, as well as examples from famous artists like the founder of frottage Max Ernst.
Let’s start with a definition:
“frottage, (French: “rubbing”), in visual arts, technique of obtaining an impression of the surface texture of a material, such as wood, by placing a piece of paper over it and rubbing it with a soft pencil or crayon, as for taking brass rubbings; the name is also applied to the impression so obtained. Frottage was used by Max Ernst and other members of the Surrealist movement, for whom it often provided the starting point for more elaborate compositions such as paintings and collages.” (Britannica)
The following are my frottage artworks:
I really enjoy frottaging and collaging, the act of frottage outside is very fun, especially in nice weather. Going out for a walk to find interesting textures, made me more aware of the beauty of the natural world.
Max Ernst is a famous surrealist artist, who first pioneered the technique of frottage and gave it that name. Ernst was first inspired to try the out-of-the-box process because he was fascinated by the grainy texture of an old wooden floor. Ernst placed a sheet of paper over the floor and rubbed it with a soft, dark stick of graphite to produce unexpected and surprising outcomes. Pleased with the results, he moved on to rub paper laid across an array of other surfaces including thread, straw, textiles, netting, and dried paint.
The following are frottage examples done by Max Ernst:
Thank you for your interest in todays blog post, I hope you feel inspired to try frottagging on your next walk!