etching

Also known as etching technique

thumb|upright|The Soldier and his Wife. Etching by Daniel Hopfer, who is believed to have been the first to apply the technique to printmaking.

AI overview

Etching is a printmaking technique where an image is created by using acid to eat away at a metal plate, which is then used to print multiple copies of the design. It matters because it was an important artistic innovation that allowed printmakers like Daniel Hopfer to produce detailed images that could be reproduced and shared widely.

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Image: The Soldier and his Wife.jpg

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described at URL: www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/curatorial-departments/drawings-and-prints/materials-and-techniques/printmaking/etching
Commons category: Etchings
Commons gallery: Etchings
P13411: April 12

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~28 min read

Article

22 sections

Contents

History
Origin
Etching in antiquity
Early etching
Callot's innovations: échoppe, hard ground, stopping-out
Variants
Printmaking technique in detail
Nontoxic etching
Photo-etching
Types of metal plates
Industrial uses
Metallographic etching
Controlling the acid's effects
Hard grounds
Aquatint
Sugar lift
Spit bite
Printing
Faults
See also
References
External links

thumb|upright|The Soldier and his Wife. Etching by Daniel Hopfer, who is believed to have been the first to apply the technique to printmaking.

Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types of material. As a method of printmaking, it is, along with engraving, the most important technique for old master prints, and remains in wide use today. In a number of modern variants such as microfabrication etching and photochemical milling, it is a crucial technique in modern technology, including circuit boards.