Drypoint facts for kids

Woman in Cafe, drypoint by Lesser Ury showing the typical rich blurred line of drypoint.

Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate (or "matrix") with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically identical to engraving. The difference is in the use of tools, and that the raised ridge along the furrow is not scraped or filed away as in engraving. Traditionally the plate was copper, but now acetate, zinc, or plexiglas are also commonly used. Like etching, drypoint is easier to master than engraving for an artist trained in drawing because the technique of using the needle is closer to using a pencil than the engraver's burin.

The term is also used for inkless scratched inscriptions, such as glosses in manuscripts.

Images for kids

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  Mary Cassatt, Woman Bathing, drypoint combined with aquatint, 1890–1.

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  Stanisław Masłowski, ca 1905, Portrait of Artist's Wife, drypoint, 11.5x7.7 cm, National Museum in Warsaw

See also

In Spanish: Grabado a punta seca para niños