Final answer:
Intaglio printing is an art technique that uses tools like a burin to carve into metal plates, creating incised lines that hold ink for transferring to paper. Etching involves a protective coating and an acid bath to create the image, with variations in bath time affecting tonal qualities. Past art forms like ink and brush calligraphy, engraving, and metalpoint also play a vital role in the history of artistic methods.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Intaglio Printing
Intaglio printing is a technique that involves incising or etching into a metal plate to create an image. Using tools like the burin, artists carefully carve lines into copper, zinc, or steel plates. When the burin is pressed harder, deeper lines are created which can hold more ink, resulting in darker lines on the paper after the printing process.
During the etching process, a wax-based coating protects the plate, and only the exposed areas where the burin has incised will be affected by the acid bath. The exposure to the acid bath etches the plate, and the time in the bath determines the darkness of the tones that are transferred during printing. The Spanish master Francisco Goya's work 'Correccion' demonstrates the crisp details and contrasting values that etching can achieve.
Ink and brush techniques have a distinct history and application, especially in East Asian art forms such as calligraphy, which was revered during the Song Dynasty. The ink used ranged from iron gall ink in Europe to ink made from charred wood in Japan and China. Furthermore, the engraving, a method similar to intaglio but used primarily by medieval armor-makers, and metalpoint, a precursor to modern pencils, are also significant historical artistic methods.