aquatint

[ ak-wuh-tint, ah-kwuh- ]

noun

1. a process imitating the broad flat tints of ink or wash drawings by etching a microscopic crackle on the copperplate intended for printing.
2. an etching made by this process.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to etch in aquatint.

aquatint

/ ˈækwəˌtɪnt /

noun

1. a technique of etching copper with acid to produce an effect resembling the flat tones of wash or watercolour. The tone or tint is obtained by acid (aqua) biting through the pores of a ground that only partially protects the copper
2. an etching made in this way

verb

1. tr to etch (a block, etc) in aquatint

Other Words From

• aqua·tinter aqua·tintist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of aquatint¹

1775–85; variant of aqua-tinta < Italian acqua tinta literally, tinted water. See aqua, tint

Word History and Origins

Origin of aquatint¹

C18: from Italian acqua tinta: dyed water

Example Sentences

The composition was inspired by Francisco de Goya’s renowned, politically trenchant aquatint, “The sleep of reason produces monsters.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Sean Scully: The Shape of Ideas” opened in April at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with more than 100 works, including some of his most monumental paintings, along with drawings, woodcuts, etchings and aquatints.

From Washington Post

The first thing you see when the curtain goes up on “Plaza Suite” is an aquatint image of that grand hotel in its antique glory.

From New York Times

Francisco Goya, the most famous artist associated with the technique, embraced the haunting potential of aquatint to create gut-wrenching images that skewered politics and society in his “Los Caprichos” and “Disasters of War” series.

From Washington Post

The show’s high points are “Six Bardos,” a suite of large aquatints from 2018 inspired by the six intervals between life and death in Buddhism.

From New York Times