Intaglio Printmaking

In intaglio printmaking the image is incised into a metal plate; ink is forced into the recesses, the surface wiped clean, and the image printed under heavy pressure.

Definition

Printmaking processes in which lines or tonal areas are recessed below the surface of a metal plate, by cutting or acid biting, so that ink held in those recesses is transferred to dampened paper under high pressure.

Scope

This topic covers the intaglio family — engraving and drypoint, which cut the plate directly, and the acid-bitten processes of etching, aquatint, and mezzotint — along with plate preparation, inking and wiping, printing on dampened paper through an etching press, and the characteristic raised ink lines and plate mark.

Core questions

• How does ink held in recessed lines transfer to paper under pressure?
• How do directly worked engraving and drypoint differ from acid-bitten etching?
• How do aquatint and mezzotint produce continuous tone?
• Why do intaglio prints show a plate mark and slightly raised ink?

Key concepts

• Engraving and the burin
• Etching and the ground
• Drypoint and burr
• Aquatint
• Mezzotint
• Plate mark

Key theories

Printing from incised lines

The defining principle of intaglio: ink is wiped off the plate surface and retained only in the incised or bitten recesses, which deposit slightly raised ink lines on dampened paper under the strong pressure of an etching press.

Acid biting versus direct working

The distinction between processes that cut the plate directly with a burin or needle (engraving, drypoint) and those in which acid bites lines or tones into the metal through a ground (etching, aquatint), each giving a recognizable line quality.

History

Engraving with the burin developed from metalworking in the fifteenth century and reached great refinement with Durer. Etching, in which acid bites the design through a protective ground, gave artists a freer, more drawing-like line and was mastered by Rembrandt. Tonal processes such as mezzotint and aquatint extended intaglio's range, the latter used powerfully by Goya in his print series.

Debates

Reading states and wear

Because intaglio plates change as the artist reworks them and wear with printing, connoisseurs debate how to identify and rank successive states and early versus late impressions, which strongly affect a print's value.

Key figures

• Albrecht Durer
• Rembrandt van Rijn
• Francisco Goya

Seminal works

• hind1963
• griffiths1996
• gascoigne2004

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between engraving and etching?

In engraving the artist cuts the lines directly into the plate with a burin, while in etching the lines are drawn through an acid-resistant ground and then bitten into the metal by acid, giving a freer, more drawn quality.

What is a plate mark?

A plate mark is the embossed rectangle pressed into the paper by the edge of the metal plate during printing, a characteristic feature that identifies an intaglio print.