A comprehensive history and how-to treatise on mezzotint engraving, a printmaking technique known for creating lush tonal gradations and dramatic lighting effects

Award-winning mezzotint engraver Carol Wax traces the art form's beginnings in 1642, through its growth as a vital British industry for reproducing paintings, to its demise after the invention of photography and resurgence as a means of original expression.

This newly revised edition explains various means for creating dark backgrounds on copper plates and rendering images reductively, or in the mezzotint manner.

Copious illustrations accompany step-by-step technical instruction and include prints by practitioners at the forefront of the current mezzotint revival.

Includes helpful information on
• tools
• inks
• papers
• printing techniques
• using mezzotint with other mediums
• related engraving and drypoint techniques

Additional updates emphasize nontoxic materials and make this book useful to artists with diverse experiences and interests.