The Rise of Drypoint

The focus of this book is the art of drypoint, an intaglio technique long overshadowed in European printmaking history. Focusing on the 1840s–1890s – the period when drypoint gained unprecedented popularity and became a common medium – it reveals why artists such as Charles-Émile Jacque, James McNeill Whistler, James Tissot, Mary Cassatt, and Auguste Rodin embraced it. Using a novel methodology that treats technique as an agent of meaning and not merely a tool, the author reconstructs creative choices, aesthetic agendas, and professional strategies. Featuring detailed case studies, the book revives neglected masters, traces overlooked narratives, and demonstrates drypoint’s unique expressive power.