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Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Past Exhibition

October 24, 2021 – February 21, 2022
West Building, Ground Floor, Galleries 30–34

In the second half of the eighteenth century, the blossoming of a new printmaking technique—aquatint—vastly expanded possibilities for creating and disseminating images across Europe. Aquatints offered the unprecedented means to mimic the gestural brushstrokes and subtle tonal variations of ink, wash (diluted ink), and watercolor drawings. Produced in multiples, aquatints were avidly collected by enthusiasts as a form of visual instruction, an intellectual pursuit, and a social pastime.

Typically printed in an array of brown and black inks, these compositions engaged viewers with scenes of faraway places, scientific phenomena, and imaginary visions. The atmosphere of excitement and intrigue around the innovation of aquatint aligned with the Enlightenment period’s preoccupation with discoveries and advances in knowledge. Most of these selected works from the National Gallery’s exceptional collection of early aquatints have never been on public view. 

Video

Aquatint: Two-Minute Tour

Join curator Rena Hoisington on a quick tour of the exhibition and learn more about this innovative printmaking technique.

Watch now

Blog

The Woman in Joseph Fischer’s Aquatint

Fischer placed her at the center of his composition, the only woman at a gathering of art enthusiasts. But who was she?

Exhibition Catalog

Available now

Explore Selected Works

Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

François-Philippe Charpentier, Carle Van Loo, Persée et Andromede (Perseus and Andromeda), 1762, etching and aquatint with roulette and burnishing printed in brown-black on laid paper, Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund, 2018.91.8
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Giovanni De Pian, Francesco Galimberti, The "Well," for Violators of State Law, 1797, etching and aquatint on laid paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 2016.168.2
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Francisco Goya, Buen Viage (Bon Voyage), published 1799, etching, aquatint, and engraving with burnishing on laid paper, Gift of Ruth B. Benedict, 1994.60.25
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Jean Jacques Lagrenée II, Ornamental Frieze, 1784-1785, etching, aquatint, and lift-ground aquatint printed in brown on laid paper, Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund, 2018.91.40
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince, Les Pêcheurs (The Fishermen), 1771, etching and aquatint printed in brown on laid paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1990.134.5
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Maria Catharina Prestel, Jacopo Ligozzi, The Triumph of Truth Over Envy, 1781, etching and aquatint printed in brown with gold leaf, Rosenwald Collection, 1948.11.282
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Paul Sandby, Caernarvon Castle (Night), 1776, etching, aquatint, and lift-ground aquatint printed in brown on laid paper, Gift of Ruth B. Benedict, 1994.60.58
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Richard Cooper II, Richard Cooper II, John Boydell, View of the Remains of Caracalla's Baths, Taken from the Jesuits Gardens at Rome, 1778, etching and aquatint in brown on laid paper, Gift of Jacob Kainen, 2002.98.87
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Louis-Jean Desprez, Tomb with Death Standing, 1779 / 1784, etching with black wash on laid paper (proof), New Century Fund and Eugene L. and Marie-Louise Garbáty Fund, 2019.153.1.a
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, Cornelis Brouwer, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Horticulturist, 1780, published 1787, etching and aquatint printed in brown on laid paper, Gift of Sherwood B. Smith, Jr., 1977.67.16
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Francisco Goya, Fuerte cosa es! (That's Tough!), 1810 / 1820, etching, aquatint, and drypoint with burnishing (proof) on laid paper, The Ahmanson Foundation and Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund, 2019.16.1
Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya

Johann Carl Richter, Pierre-Jacques Volaire, Vesuvausbruch von 1771 (The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1771), 1797, etching and aquatint printed in brown, laid down on a mount with a contemporary printed ornamental border on blue paper and collaged title, Ruth and Jacob Kainen Memorial Acquisition Fund, 2020.36.3

Except where noted, all works in the exhibition are from the collection of the National Gallery of Art. 

Organization
Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

The exhibition is curated by Rena M. Hoisington, curator and head of the department of old master prints, National Gallery of Art.

Sponsors
The exhibition is made possible by a generous grant from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust.

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required

Banner detail: Paul Sandby, Caernarvon Castle (Night), 1776, etching and aquatint printed in brown on laid paper, Gift of Ruth B. Benedict, 1994.60.58