English Mezzotint

Mezzotint (from Italian ‘mezza tinta’ – halftone), also called black manner, is a method of engraving a metal plate. This technique was invented in 1640s by a German master Ludwig von Siegen (1609 – circa 1680), and eventually improved by Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619 – 1682) and portraitist Abraham Blooteling (1640 – 1690). At the beginning, the black manner developed in the Netherlands and Germany, but later came to England, where it became the most popular engraving technique. English printmakers of the second half of the 18^th century used mezzotint mainly to reproduce portraits. The expressive potential of the black manner allowed artists to create engravings with rich combinations of semitones proper to paintings.

No other printing technique of the 18^th century required such labor input as mezzotint: it took nearly six months only to prepare a metal plate for a proof. After a long process of handling the copper plate with a so-called ‘rocker’ – a metal tool for engraving – its surface became roughened and allowed to achieve deep black velvety shades in the print. The spaces of the plate that were supposed to give lighter shades in the print were thoroughly polished – the contact of these parts of the plate with the paper was limited, leaving only a slight tone of ink when placed on a sheet of paper under the printing press. Thus, gravers achieved the necessary gradual transition between light and shade.

Mezzotint technique ensured a relatively small number (usually around 30) of saturated and bright prints of high quality. Copper plates that were partially worn in the process of printing were used for colour prints – it was normally possible to produce nearly 10 coloured sheets. However, monochrome prints are commonly regarded as the most valuable.