aquatint

aquatint
/ak"weuh tint', ah"kweuh-/, n.
1. a process imitating the broad flat tints of ink or wash drawings by etching a microscopic crackle on the copperplate intended for printing.
2. an etching made by this process.
v.t., v.i.
3. to etch in aquatint.
[1775-85; var. of aqua-tinta < It acqua tinta lit., tinted water. See AQUA, TINT]

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Method of etching that produces finely granulated tonal areas rather than lines, so that finished prints often resemble watercolour or wash drawings.

A copper plate is exposed to acid through a layer of granulated resin or sugar, which yields a finely speckled gray tone when the plate is inked and printed. The texture and depth of tone are controlled by the strength of the acid baths and the length of time the plate is exposed to them. Aquatint became the most popular method of producing toned prints in the late 18th century; its most notable practitioner was Francisco Goya. In the 19th century Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro experimented with it, and in the 20th century the sugar aquatint was employed by Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault, and André Masson.

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 a variety of etching widely used by printmakers to achieve a broad range of tonal values. The process is called aquatint because finished prints often resemble watercolour drawings or wash drawings. The technique consists of exposing a copperplate to acid through a layer of melted granulated resin. The acid bites away the plate only in the interstices between the resin grains, leaving an evenly pitted surface that yields broad areas of tone when the grains are removed and the plate is printed. An infinite number of tones can be achieved by exposing various parts of the plate to acid baths of different strengths for different periods of time. Tones can also be altered by scraping and burnishing. Etched or engraved lines are often used with aquatint to achieve greater definition of form.

      In the 17th century a number of attempts were made at producing what later became known as aquatint prints. None of the efforts was successful, however, until 1768, when the French printmaker Jean-Baptiste Le Prince discovered that granulated resin gave satisfactory results. Aquatint became the most popular method of producing toned prints in the late 18th century, especially among illustrators. Its textural subtleties, however, remained largely unexplored by well-known artists except for Francisco de Goya (Goya, Francisco de). Most of his prints are aquatints, and he is considered the greatest master of the technique.

      After Goya's death, aquatint was largely ignored until Edgar Degas (Degas, Edgar), Camille Pissarro (Pissarro, Camille), and Mary Cassatt (Cassatt, Mary) together began to experiment with it. Sugar aquatint, sometimes called sugar lift, was another method that came into widespread use in the 20th century owing to the work of artists such as Pablo Picasso (Picasso, Pablo) and Georges Rouault (Rouault, Georges). Many contemporary printmakers also use pressurized plastic sprays in place of resin.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Aquatint — is an intaglio printmaking technique, a variant of etching. Intaglio printmaking makes marks on the matrix (in the case of aquatint, a copper or zinc plate) that are capable of holding ink. The inked plate is passed through a printing press… …   Wikipedia

  • aquatint — v. 1. to etch in aquatint. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Aquatint — A qua*tint, Aquatinta A qua*tin ta, n. [It. acquatinta dyed water; acqua (L. aqua) water + tinto, fem. tinta, dyed. See {Tint}.] A kind of etching in which spaces are bitten by the use of aqua fortis, by which an effect is produced resembling a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • aquatint — (n.) 1782, engraving made with aqua fortis, from It. acquatinta, from L. aqua tincta dyed water; see AQUA (Cf. aqua ) + TINCT (Cf. tinct) …   Etymology dictionary

  • aquatint — [ak′wə tint΄, äk′wə tint΄] n. [Fr aquatinte < It acqua tinta, dyed in water < L aqua, water + tintus, pp. of tingere, to dye, TINGE] 1. a process by which spaces rather than lines are etched with acid, producing tones that give the effect… …   English World dictionary

  • aquatint — UK [ˈækwəˌtɪnt] / US noun [countable] Word forms aquatint : singular aquatint plural aquatints art a) a picture like a watercolour that is printed by using acid to cut a design into a sheet of metal b) [uncountable] the method used to make… …   English dictionary

  • aquatint — /ˈækwətɪnt/ (say akwuhtint) noun 1. a process imitating the broad flat tints of ink or wash drawings by etching a microscopic crackle on the copperplate intended for printing. 2. an etching made by this process. –verb (t) 3. to etch (a design,… …  

  • aquatint — noun Etymology: Italian acqua tinta dyed water Date: 1782 a method of etching a printing plate so that tones similar to watercolor washes can be reproduced; also a print made from a plate so etched • aquatint transitive verb • aquatinter …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • aquatint — aq|ua|tint [ ækwə,tınt ] noun count a picture like a WATERCOLOR that is printed by using acid to cut a design into a sheet of metal a. uncount the method used to make aquatint pictures …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • aquatint — aq·ua·tint || ækwÉ™tɪnt n. etching that is made in such a way as to resemble a watercolor; process done to make an aquatint etching …   English contemporary dictionary

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