Sculpture

Intaglio

The line cut into metal by Dürer's burin is as expressive as any painted brushstroke.

DE  —  Printmaking in which the image is incised into the plate

Intaglio (Italian: 'incised') is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised, etched or engraved into a metal plate — typically copper or zinc — so that the incised lines hold ink, while the surface is wiped clean. The inked plate is then pressed against paper, transferring the image. The main intaglio processes are: engraving (lines cut directly with a burin), etching (lines bitten into the plate with acid through an acid-resistant ground), aquatint (a tone process using resin dust), drypoint (lines scratched with a needle, leaving a 'burr' that produces characteristic soft, velvety lines), and mezzotint (a process of roughening and burnishing that creates rich tonal ranges). Dürer, Rembrandt, and Goya were masters of intaglio. The technique requires that prints be made in limited editions before the plate wears.

Further Reading Dürer Jeffrey Chipps Smith Bookshop.org →