![]() Pablo Picasso, 1909, Two Nude Figures ( Deux figures nues), steel-faced drypoint on Arches laid paper, 13 x 11 cm, printed by Delâtre, Paris, published by Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler Carbide-tipped steel needles can also be used to great effect, and are cheaper than diamond-tipped needles, but they need frequent sharpening to maintain a sharp point.Diamond-tipped needles carve easily through any metal and never need sharpening, but they are expensive.However, certain types of needles are created specifically for drypoints: Dentistry tools, nails, and metal files can all be used to produce drypoints. Ĭontemporary artists who have extensively used drypoint include Louise Bourgeois, Vija Celmins, William Kentridge and Richard Spare.Īny sharp object can theoretically be used to make a drypoint, as long as it can be used to carve lines into metal. On the West Coast of the United States the respected printmaker Pedro Joseph de Lemos simplified the methods for producing drypoints in art schools. Canadian artist David Brown Milne is credited as the first to produce coloured drypoints by the use of multiple plates, one for each colour. By adding aquatint work on the plate and inking with various colours, artists such as Mary Cassatt have produced colour drypoints. In the 20th century many artists produced drypoints, including Max Beckmann, Milton Avery, and Hermann-Paul. Alex Katz used this process to create several of his famous works, such as "Sunny" and "The Swimmer". ![]() ![]() As intaglio techniques, they can all be used on the same plate. ![]() Among the most famous artists of the old master print, Albrecht Dürer produced 3 drypoints before abandoning the technique Rembrandt used it frequently, but usually in conjunction with etching and engraving. The technique appears to have been invented by the Housebook Master, a south German 15th-century artist, all of whose prints are in drypoint only. Stanisław Masłowski, ca 1905, Portrait of Artist's Wife, drypoint, 11.5x7.7 cm, National Museum in Warsaw To counter this and allow for longer print runs, electroplating (called steelfacing by printmakers) can harden the surface of a plate and allow the same edition size as produced by etchings and engravings. Most impressions of Rembrandt prints on which drypoint was used show no burr, and often the drypoint lines are very weak, leaving the etched portions still strong. Because the recurring pressure of printing soon destroys the burr, drypoint is useful only for comparatively small editions as few as ten or twenty impressions with burr can be made, and after the burr has gone, the comparatively shallow lines will wear out relatively quickly. This technique is different from engraving, in which the incisions are made by removing metal to form depressions in the plate surface which hold ink, although the two methods can easily be combined, as Rembrandt often did. A lighter line may have no burr at all, creating a very fine line in the final print by holding very little ink. The deepest drypoint lines leave enough burr on either side of them that they prevent the paper from pushing down into the center of the stroke, creating a feathery black line with a fine, white center. A perpendicular angle will leave little to no burr, while the smaller the angle gets to either side, the larger the burr pileup. The size or characteristics of the burr usually depend not on how much pressure is applied, but on the angle of the needle. A larger burr, formed by a steep angle of the tool, will hold a lot of ink, producing a characteristically soft, dense line that differentiates drypoint from other intaglio methods such as etching or engraving which produce a smooth, hard-edged line. The lines produced by printing a drypoint are formed by the burr thrown up at the edge of the incised lines, in addition to the depressions formed in the surface of the plate. ![]() Mary Cassatt, Woman Bathing, drypoint combined with aquatint, 1890–1. ![]()
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