What does drypoint mean?
Drypoint is an intaglio printmaking technique in which the artist draws an image directly onto a metal plate — usually copper or zinc — using a sharp steel or diamond-tipped needle. Unlike etching, no acid is involved: the needle simply scratches the surface, throwing up a delicate ridge of metal called a burr along each groove. This burr traps extra ink, so prints made from a drypoint plate have a distinctive soft, velvety, slightly blurred line prized for its warmth and expressiveness. Because the fragile burr wears down quickly under pressure, only a limited number of high-quality impressions can be pulled from a single plate, making fine drypoints relatively scarce. The word refers both to the process itself and to an individual print made by it. Rembrandt, one of the technique's greatest masters, exploited its rich tonal effects, and artists such as Mary Cassatt carried it forward. Today drypoint remains popular among printmakers who value its immediacy and painterly quality.
nounA printmaking technique in which an image is drawn directly onto a metal plate with a sharp steel or diamond-tipped needle, creating a raised burr that holds ink and prints as a soft, velvety line. It also refers to a print made by this method.
- The intaglio printmaking technique of inscribing an image directly onto a metal plate with a sharp pointed tool, leaving a burr that produces a characteristically soft, velvety line when printed.
- A print produced by this technique.
"Rembrandt's later prints are celebrated for the rich, velvety lines he achieved through drypoint."
"She preferred drypoint to etching because the burr gave her lines a warmth that acid could never achieve."
"The gallery acquired a rare drypoint by Mary Cassatt at auction last spring."
Standard regular plural, used chiefly for individual prints rather than the technique itself.
"The museum's collection includes over forty of Whistler's drypoints."
The magic of drypoint lies in its 'burr' — a tiny ridge of metal thrown up by the needle that holds extra ink, giving each print a soft, smoky glow no other technique can match.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of drypoint
Drypoint is a transparent English compound of "dry" (from Old English "drȳge") and "point" (from Latin "punctum," meaning a prick or small hole, via Old French "point"), coined to describe a needle-drawn method requiring no acid bath — hence "dry." It emerged in English usage in the nineteenth century as printmaking terminology was standardized, though the technique itself dates back to the fifteenth century. Its second element connects it etymologically to words such as "puncture," "punctuation," and "acupuncture," all descended from the Latin root "pungere," to prick.
How drypoint is actually used
"Drypoint" is a technical term used almost exclusively in art, printmaking, and museum contexts; it is countable in both senses (a drypoint, several drypoints) though often used uncountably when referring to the technique itself.
Easily confused with drypoint
Etching uses acid to bite lines into a plate after drawing through a wax ground, whereas drypoint scratches the plate directly with a needle and no acid.
Engraving cuts clean furrows into metal with a burin and yields crisp lines, while drypoint merely displaces metal into a soft burr that gives a fuzzy, velvety line.