About Fine Art: Dry Point (Intaglio)

The intaglio, or dry point, method of printmaking is a leftover from the Renaissance era, and not often executed by printmakers today. The basic difference is that the engraving is done by the artist directly on the metal plate, using diamond hard tools, rather than onto a covering made of acid-resistant chemical as in the etching process.

The result is a characteristically soft, velvety appearance for the dry point line, as opposed to a lean, hard line for an etched line.

The intaglio method has been termed "tedious, and fraught with great difficulties. There are no visual stunts involved, the naked intent of the artist is all there is."

Dry point may yield a possible 20 or 30 copies. In this process, the ink is transferred directly from the plate onto sheets of heavy French all-rag-content paper. One print at a time is yielded by laying the dampened paper over the inked plate. Thick pieces of felt are then placed over the paper, which gives a slightly embossed effect to the finished print. A press is then rolled over the top and the print is removed, numbered and signed.

Intaglio prints are available only in limited editions.