INTAGLIO PRINTS

Toussaint Louverture	Manhattan Bridge	Truro Hostel	Newark Bay Bridge
(etching & aquatint)	(etching)	(etching)	(etching & aquatint)

Boat in Wellfleet Harbor	The Pond in Monet's Garden	A Quiet Moment
(Etching)	(Etching)	(Etching)

A brief note on Intaglio prints

Intaglio printing method has been practiced for centuries. It is derived from the Italian word "intagliare" which means "cut into" (patterns and images have been scratched and cut into a hard material). Etching, one of the methods, was made popular by the Dutch etchers which included Rembrandt; other methods include engravings, drypoints, mezzotints, aquatints…Other well know printmakers include Mary Cassatt, Matisse, Whistler, Dürer, Goya (famous for his aquatints), Picasso, Hopper, Sloan, Blackburn etc.
Etching: the artist works on a plate of copper, zinc or steel; a design first drawn on paper is then transferred to the plate (some artists draw directly on the plate) and then drawn over through a series of lines with an etching needle, the plate is then “etched” in acid (the design is bitten into the surface so that it will retain ink); the plate is then inked and ran through a press whereby the ink is transferred by means of pressure to a sheet of paper to create an “etching”.
Aquatint: etching in mass instead of in line like above; the surface of the plate has been partially covered with many tiny particles of rosin, the acid bites the uncovered area creating solid tonal areas. The completed plate is then inked and printed in the same manner as an etching.
The “edition” is the number of prints made from a given plate. An additional ten percent of the number of prints in the edition is printed for the artist’s personal use as “Artist’s Proofs”. The prints are numbered, titled and signed by the artist in pencil at the bottom – the edition is numbered in Arabic (1/100 = number one out of 100 prints), the Artist’s Proof is numbered in Roman ( A/P IV = the 4th artist proof).
After an edition has been printed, the plate is destroyed or defaced to make sure that further prints cannot be pulled – the price/value often would go up as the edition sells out.