Aquatint

アクアチント / 18th century–present / Technique / Intaglio Printing

An intaglio technique that builds tone through small ink-holding recesses etched around a granular resist. Grainy greys and dark fields work alongside drawn lines. Its wash-like effects differ from watercolor itself and from the mechanically roughened plate of mezzotint.

Aquatint — Francisco de Goya, Los Caprichos, plate 7, Ni así la distingue, 1799 — etching and aquatint — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Francisco de Goya, Los Caprichos, plate 7, Ni así la distingue, 1799 — etching and aquatint — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

At a glance

Visual cues

Tonal fields made of fine grain
Lines and areas share the shading
Distinct depths or stages of tone
Paper white against dark ink fields

Best used for

Exhibitions and teaching that compare Aquatint with neighbouring print techniques
Publications studying lines, tones and paper through documented works

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Dictionary entry

Type: Keep lettering in the work separate from added labels; place medium, artist and date outside the image.
Composition: Separate lines from tonal fields and test the balance of white, midtone and black.
Material: Check the collection medium record and the paper and ink; do not infer materials from screen colour alone.
Caution: Texture overlays do not establish the technique. Identify the tonal process and any etching or drypoint used with it.
Further study: Francisco de Goya — Los Caprichos / Resist, grain and tonal fields / MoMA — Aquatint

Related entries

Etching (エッチング／腐食銅版画)Same Intaglio Printing lineage.Compare Aquatint and Etching
Mezzotint (メゾチント)Same Intaglio Printing lineage.Compare Aquatint and Mezzotint

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Link: https://indexstyle.org/styles/aquatint
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