An intaglio printmaking technique that creates tonal areas. Its name reflects its watercolor-like effects. Powdered resin is sprinkled on a metal plate and adheres through heating. When the plate is submerged in acid, tiny areas unprotected by the resin are “bitten” by the acid, creating recesses. After the resin coating is removed, the plate is inked to fill in these recesses. When damp paper is laid on the plate and run through a press, the tiny ink-filled recesses print as tonal fields.
Aquatint
5 examples
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Pablo Picasso Head of a Woman No. 5, Portrait of Dora Maar (Tête de femme No. 5, portrait de Dora Maar) 1939
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Helen Frankenthaler Nepenthe 1972
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Robert Mangold Seven Aquatints 1973 (published 1974)
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Chuck Close Self-Portrait/Spitbite/White on Black 1997
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Kara Walker An Unpeopled Land in Uncharted Waters 2010