It is believed that the Flemish artist Antoon Sallaert created his first monotypes in the early 1640s and is therefore to be regarded as the inventor of this printing process. Both artists used the new technique in different ways.

Is a monotype an original?

A MONOTYPE is a painting/drawing/inking on a surface/substrate that is transferred to paper or another receiving surface. A monotype is not repeatable as it allows only one pull of the original image elements, perhaps followed by a ghost print.

What is the history of Monoprinting?

One of the earliest artists to explore the technique was Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (c. 1610–65), who made monotypes from copper etching plates. In the 19th century the English poet and artist William Blake and the French artist Edgar Degas experimented with the technique. A monoprint is a unique print.