aquatint

American  

[ak-wuh-tint, ah-kwuh-] / ˈæk wəˌtɪnt, ˈɑ kwə- /

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.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to etch in aquatint.

aquatint British  

/ 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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

• aquatinter noun
• aquatintist noun

Etymology

Origin of aquatint

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

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 • Oct. 12, 2022

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 • Mar. 28, 2022

In comparison to older printmaking techniques, which relied on lines, and created images with a more mechanical look, aquatint prints appear untethered from the machine, closer to the artist’s hand.

From Washington Post • Jan. 13, 2022

The artist’s aquatint from the late 18th-century is among the most familiar images in this museum survey of comic drawings, prints and works on paper.

From Washington Post • Aug. 24, 2018

Of these methods only aquatint survived after early years of the 19th century.

From John Baptist Jackson 18th-Century Master of the Color Woodcut by Kainen, Jacob