Intaglio printmaking techniques emerged in Europe centuries after the invention ofwoodblock printingin Japan.
Learn more about the various intaglio printmaking techniques below.
What is Intaglio Printmaking?
Intaglio printmaking. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[Public domain])
There are five traditional intaglio processes:engraving,etching,drypoint,aquatint, andmezzotint.
Read on to learn about each printing process.
Creating elaborate prints with curves, however, is no easy feat.
“Mercury (Hermes)” Engraving (Photo:Wikimedia Commons[CC BY 4.0])
To do so, the artist must turn the plate while pushing the burin straight ahead.
As the burin is pressed deeper into the copper, the line becomes wider.
The process, however, is still practiced by many artists today.
In contrast to the painstaking engraving process, etching allows for more spontaneity.
A metal plate is first coated with a thin layer of an asphaltum-based, acid-resistant substance called etching ground.
Finally, the plate is dipped into an acid bath, which then bites into the exposed lines.
But unlike etching, this processwhich dates back to the early 1600s doesnt involve acid.
The drypoint technique typically produces prints with irregular, soft fuzzy lines.
The burr holds most of the ink, rather than the recessed lines.
For the plates, tin or copper is the preferred material.
First, a fine layer of powdered rosin, melted resin, or asphalt is dusted onto the plate.
These droplets are acid-resistant and protect the design on the plate when it is lowered into the acid bath.
Its the only intaglio process that is made by working from dark to light.
To work in mezzotint, an artist first uses a tool called a rocker to prepare the metal plate.
These small indentations hold the ink, producing a tonal, painterly data pipe of lines.
Mezzotint is often combined with other intaglio techniques, usually etching and engraving.
The process was widely used in England from the eighteenth century, mainly to reproduce portraits.
