Colour aquatints
In addition to producing a range of monochromatic values, aquatint could also be used to create coloured prints.
This could be achieved in two ways — the printmaker could carefully wipe a single plate with different coloured inks, a technique known as à la poupée, or several different plates could be used for each colour and aligned with registration pins.
Both methods produce delicate, wash-like results. Because of the subtle effects, such prints often existed in the sphere of the belle èpreuve, the limited edition fine art print.
Symbolist moods
The subtlety of aquatint was praised by Symbolist printmakers seeking to imbue their works with elements of mystery and suggestion.
The atmosphere of a misty Breton landscape or an urban street scene could be convincingly rendered using the technique.
Eugène Delâtre infused his Parisian cityscape Impasse Trainée, Montmartre with mood by adding diffuse shadows in aquatint.
Edouard Manet, Exotic Flower, Woman with a Mantilla (Fleur exotique, la femme à la mantille), 1869
Charles-Louis-M. Houdard, Frogs (Grenouilles), 1894
Eugène Delâtre, Impasse Trainée, Montmartre, c. 1890-1900
Further reading
- Henri Dorra (ed.), Symbolist Art Theories: A Critical Anthology, Berkeley 1994
- Anthony Griffiths, Prints and Printmaking: An Introduction to the History and Technique), London 1996
- Ad Stijnman, Engraving and Etching 1400-2000: A History of the Development of Manual Intaglio Printmaking Processes, Houten 2012