View source for Soft ground etching

[[File:1971.268-SC28837.jpg|thumb|]]
== Description ==

An etching prepared from a plate that is covered with a thin, soft, tacky material. Soft ground etching was used since the late 18th century to produce offset drawings with very fine textures. For the technique, a printing plate is spread with the soft ground (often containing [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=natural%20resin resin], [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=wax wax], and/or [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=grease grease]), then covered with a [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=drawing%20paper drawing paper]. As the artist draws the image, the pressure causes the tacky ground to adhere to the paper and thus expose the metal plate. Once the paper is removed, the plate is etched with a weak [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=acid acid].

[[File:2001.691-SC20638.jpg|thumb|]]
== Synonyms and Related Terms ==

soft-ground etching; Weichgrundradierung (Deut.)

== Additional Images ==

<gallery>
File:2001.685-SC20633.jpg|
File:2001.700-SC20647.jpg|
File:2001.685.det.sge.jpg|Soft ground etching
File:2001.688.det.jpg|Soft ground etching
File:2001.700.det.gp.jpg|Soft ground etching
</gallery>


== Authority ==

* ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', http://www.britannica.com  Comment: "printmaking." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service  3 Feb. 2005 .

* Luis Nadeau, ''Encyclopedia of Printing, Photographic, and Photomechanical Processes'', Atelier, New Brunswick, 1997

* ''The Bullfinch Guide to Art History'', Shearer West (ed.), Bullfinch Press, Boston, 1996

* B. Gascoigne, ''How to Identify Prints'', Thames & Hudson, London, 2004



[[Category:Materials database]]