Talk:Mezzotint

Cleanup

I requested that this entry be cleaned up because I feel that it contains explanations that are only helpful to people who know about Mezzotints in the first place. I have taken a class and made my own mezzotints and yet even I am unsure what exactly is meant by "the image is then brought out by scraping smooth the surface" or "It is possible to create the image by only roughening the plate selectively, so working from light to dark." This last sentence, it must be said, is a grammatical mess. Also, one cannot just throw "Rockers have been in use since at least the eighteenth century" into a paragraph without defining what a "rocker" is in this context. I would fix the article myself except that I personally do not know that much about Mezzotints. What I do know is that this article, as it stands, is not going to improve my understanding. Saudade7 08:18, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I have expanded the text (not mine originally) a bit; but for example there was already a clear description of a rocker a line after the term was used.Johnbod 14:53, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

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What caused the demise of mezzotint in the mid 19th century? What technology replaced it? (EB)

Interesting question - I think a combination of factors, but in particular (I'm somewhat guessing) the demise of demand for a relatively small number of expensive impressions from mezzotints. From the mid-19C very large numbers of steel engraved cheap repros was where the market went. Also society portraits were of less interest, colour lithographs and photographs came in, the etching revival and so on. Johnbod 19:12, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

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Mezzotint and Plate

Pardon my ignorance but it is not clear to me what the terms are to describe a mezzotint and a plate. Is the plate a mezzotint also or is the mezzotint the production of a plate (or a mezzotinting plate) (or in short is the plate simply called a plate? Tarzanlordofthejungle (talk) 19:39, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

The copper plate is used (and reused) to make a mezzotint print on paper. The mezzotint is the print, and also the design, which the plate carries, but the plate is not a mezzotint. Does that help? Johnbod (talk) 23:51, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

answers the question, thanks Tarzanlordofthejungle (talk) 11:16, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

Request

Someone added a request inappropriately in a reference; i've removed it, but for courtesy's sake, because someone might find it a useful request, i'll add it here: "please detail the microscopic process better, or refer to external reference, to make clear how burnishing brings about a "white" (that's an area where ink will not be retained) and not a "black" area". Personally, i understand the explanation, but apparently it may not be clear enough for others. Cheers, Lindsay^Hello 05:19, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Mezzotint/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

It seems (to this non-expert) to give a reasonable description of the technique. It apparently relies on just one source. More technical illustrations showing the various steps and closeups of a plate and how it is worked would be useful. And more art examples. The history should be more fully developed. Bob Burkhardt (talk) 18:09, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Last edited at 18:09, 26 January 2009 (UTC). Substituted at 23:48, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

"of course"

"Today's masters of the mezzotint process include Craig McPherson (b. 1948), Frederick Mershimer (b. 1958) and, of course, Carol Wax".

Knowing nothing of mezzotint, I turned to Wikipedia. Apparently I should already have been familiar with its practitioners. Sorry for being ignorant, but I've never heard of her.

Is this article written for lay people or for those already in the know? Is there a secret handshake or can anyone join? Hundovir (talk) 15:45, 25 November 2022 (UTC)

I've removed the promotional language.Curiocurio (talk) 16:27, 25 November 2022 (UTC)

Gosh, that's a lightning fast response! Thank you. Hundovir (talk) 16:36, 25 November 2022 (UTC)