Also known as intaglio printmaking, aquatint is a means of achieving tonal values in printmaking. The aquatint process involves etching or "burning" an image onto a surface and then inking it onto paper, giving depth and shading without actually changing the color.

Aquatint’s name—literally, “water” and “color”—refers to the finished effect, which can look much like a watercolor painting. Created by the Dutch and latched onto by the French, the method was made famous by artists such as Francisco Goya and American printmaker Robert Havell.

The aquatint method utilizes an etched metal plate--usually copper or zinc--created to hold ink in a desired picture or pattern. The metal plate, along with a piece of blank paper, is passed through a printing press. In the process, the ink transfers from the plate to the paper. The result is an etched, as opposed to engraved, effect.

The method begins with resin, which is dissolved in spirits of wine. The resultant solution is poured over the metal plate. The plate is warmed and the spirits evaporate, leaving behind a granulated surface, known as "ground". At this stage, acid is applied; this dissolves the area around the granules. The process is repeated, with darker tones achieved each time, until an ideal depth of tone is achieved. The aquatint is now ready to be printed.

The complex aquatint process has a long history. Invented in approximately 1650 by Dutch printmaker Jan van de Velde, the method was trumped by another process, mezzotint, which was being developed at the same time. Aquatint remained a fringe and even archaic method until the late 1700s, when it was described in two published works, Art de Graver au Pinceau(Stapart, 1773) and  Découverte du Procédé de Graver au Lavis (Jean-Baptiste Le Prince, 1780).

Le Prince's French method of aquatint was soon refined in England by Paul Sandby, who improved upon Le Prince's dry powder technique. (Sandby is credited with coining the actual phrase "aquatint".) Soon English artists were utilizing the method to create unique wash-type effects. During this time, it was widely used in caricatures and fashion plates.

Spanish painter Francisco Goya (1746-1828) took aquatint out of the smudged printroom and into the artist's quarters for the first time. The Master utilized the technique to create dramatic shadow effects in his artwork. Goya would go on to create four cycles in etching: Los Caprichos (1799), Los Desastres de la Guerra (1810-1819); La Tauromaquia (1816) and Disparates (1816-1823). Later artists, including American printer Robert Havell (1793-1878), lent an additional hand in popularizing the technique.

Today, aquatint effects can be achieved with the push of a few buttons and a dose of creativity. Aquatint is as readily available as one's photo editing or illustrating program. The aquatint effect lends a somewhat old-fashioned air, making it popular for giving an "authentic" or antique feel to one's finished piece.