COPPER ETCHING

Copper etching has its origins in the workshops of European goldsmiths and armourers in the 15th century, who used acid to decorate metal surfaces. Printmakers quickly recognised that the same process could be used to create images for reproduction, and by the 16th century etching had become one of the dominant printmaking techniques of the Western world. Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Francisco Goya all worked extensively in etching, and the medium remains central to fine art printmaking today. To make a copper etching, the artist coats a copper plate with a waxy acid-resistant ground and draws through it with a needle, exposing the metal beneath. The plate is then submerged in acid, which bites into the exposed lines, creating grooves that will hold ink. The ground is removed, ink is worked into the bitten lines and wiped from the surface, and the plate is run through a printing press under pressure, forcing the dampened paper into the grooves to lift the ink. The result is a line of great delicacy and precision which is finer than almost any other printmaking technique with a characteristic quality of depth and texture that cannot be replicated digitally. Copper etching can also be combined with other intaglio techniques such as aquatint, mezzotint, and embossing, allowing for extraordinary tonal and textural range.