mezzotint

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mezzotint

mezzotint [Ital.,=halftint], method of copper or steel engraving in tone. A Dutch officer, Ludwig von Siegen, is given credit for the invention of mezzotint c.1640. The process then came into prominence in England early in the 18th cent. Mezzotint involves uniform burring with a curved, sawtoothed tool by cradling it back and forth until the surface of the plate presents an all-over, even grain. This yields a soft effect in the print. The picture is developed in chiaroscuro with a scraper and a burnisher, every degree of light and shade from black to white being attainable. In pure mezzotint, no line drawing is employed, the result being soft without the sharp lines of an etching. Mezzotint was often used for the reproduction of paintings, particularly, in England, for landscapes and portraits. The process is essentially extinct today.

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mezzotint

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

mezzotint † half-tint; method of engraving a metal plate for printing. XVIII. Earlier in It. form mezzotinto (XVII); f. mezzo half + tinto TINT.

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T. F. HOAD. "mezzotint." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (November 24, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mezzotint.html

T. F. HOAD. "mezzotint." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved November 24, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mezzotint.html

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