Drypoint is an intaglio printmaking technique in which a design is scratched directly into a metal plate, most often copper, using a sharp needle-like tool, without the acid-etching process used in etching, so that the displaced metal thrown up along the edges of each incised line, the burr, holds extra ink and prints as a characteristically soft, velvety, slightly blurred line. Because the fragile burr flattens and wears down after relatively few impressions are pulled from the press, a drypoint plate yields a much smaller edition of prints than an etched plate, and the technique has been used since the fifteenth century, notably by Rembrandt, through to modern printmakers who value its distinctive rich, soft line quality.
Connections
Associated With
Etching and drypoint are both intaglio processes, often combined on the same plate to add fine burr-rich detail.
Drypoint and mezzotint both work a plate directly to raise a burr that holds ink for rich, soft tonal effects.
Monotype is frequently combined with drypoint worked into the plate before printing.
Rembrandt, Artists Rembrandt made extensive and celebrated use of drypoint, often combined with etching.
Sources
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationDrypoint, Wikipedia summary leadQuote, Drypoint, Wikipedia summary lead
Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond. In principle, the method is practically identical to engraving. The difference is in the use of tools, and that the raised ridge along the furrow is not scraped or filed away as in engraving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a drypoint plate produce only a small number of good prints?
Drypoint's distinctive soft, velvety line comes from the burr, the metal displaced up along the edges of a line scratched directly into the plate with a needle, which holds extra ink when the plate is printed. That burr is fragile and flattens under the pressure of the printing press after relatively few impressions, so a drypoint plate yields a much smaller edition of good prints than an etched or engraved plate, whose incised lines do not depend on a delicate raised edge.
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