What is an etching?
The etching process (a form of intaglio) was first used by artists, including Durer, in the early 16th and 17th centuries, and artists such as Rembrandt brought it to a popularity that flourishes to this day. While there are varied ways in which to create an image on a plate in the etching process, the most common probably is the use of a sharp etching needle or burin to draw lines into a flat copper plate through a coating of black wax or varnish which is acid resistant. When the metal plate is immersed in acid, only the lines which are not coated by wax or varnish are “etched” into the plate. The length of time the acid remains on the metal determines the depth of the bite; the deeper the bite, the darker will be the print. In repeated immersions into the acid for more bite, those areas which have been sufficiently worked can be stopped out with additional varnish to allow for further bites of only the remaining unvarnished areas.
An etching is a technique in which the artist engraves a metal plate with the help of acid. It comes from a family of numerous printing techniques, some already known in the 15 th century in Europe, where the artist first makes some cuts in a wooden plate, then fills those cuts with inks and press it strongly against a piece of paper, creating a print. First devised to make cheap reproduction possible, it became in the 19th century an art by itself, with artists like Drer, Rembrandt, Corot, Picasso, Dubuffet and many others who have spend long times mastering this difficult technique. To make prints artists engraves many kinds of materials, and with different methods. Each has a different name, which you should know if you want to talk to art dealers specialised in prints and etchings.
