mezzotintn.
/ˈmɛtsəʊtɪnt/, /ˈmɛdzəʊtɪnt/, /ˈmɛzəʊtɪnt/, U.S. /ˈmɛtsoʊˌtɪnt/, /ˈmɛ(d)zoʊˌtɪnt/ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > [noun] > half-tint or half-tone
mezzotintoa1650
semi-tint1728
mezzotint1738
middle tone1838
half-tone1867
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > art of colouring > [noun] > half-tint
mezzotint1738
demi-tint1753
demi-tone1812
1738 J. F. Fritsch tr. G. de Lairesse Art of Painting i. vi. 11 The half Tint, which is laid next to the Extremity on the light Side, and called Mezzo-tint [Du. Mezze-Tint genaamd word].
1774 ‘J. Collier’ Musical Trav. 28 Her back-ground; her mezzo-tints; and her clare-obscure were charming.
1880 J. H. Shorthouse John Inglesant (1882) II. vii. 162 Born in the dull twilight of the north, and having most of his mature years among the green mezzotints of Germany, he was now transplanted into a land of light and colour.
2. Engraving. A method of engraving copper and steel plates for printing, in which the surface of the plate is roughened uniformly and then partially scraped away in order to produce the tones and half-tones of the picture, while the untouched parts of the plate give the deepest tones. Also: a print produced by this process. Also in extended use.The process was invented by Ludwig von Siegen of Utrecht, whose first dated mezzotint was made in 1642. The introduction of mezzotinting to England is generally ascribed to Prince Rupert, the nephew of Charles I. He was also formerly regarded by some as the inventor of the technique.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > mezzotint
mezzotinto1662
mezzotint1800
mezzotinting1860
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > mezzotint > a mezzotint
mezzotint1800
mezzo1886
1713 G. Vertue Note-bks. (1930) I. 33 This is the picture from which the metzotint print was made.
1750 M. Jones Misc. in Prose & Verse 3 Well, but the joy to see my works in print! My self too pictur'd in a Mezzo-Tint.
1753 W. Hogarth Anal. Beauty xii. 94 Could mezzo-tint prints be wrought as accurately as those with the graver, they would come nearest to nature, as they are done without strokes or lines.
1800 J. Dallaway Anecd. Arts Eng. 474 (note) There is a mezzotint taken from it by Faber.
1839 Penny Cycl. XV. 169/1 Previous to the mezzotint ground having been laid.
1849 W. Irving Oliver Goldsmith (rev. ed.) xxvii. 242 His portrait is to be engraved in mezzotint.
1886 A. C. Swinburne Misc. 86 Aurora Raby is a graceful sketch in sentimental mezzotint.
1899 J. Huneker (title) Mezzotints in modern music; Brahms, Tschaïkowsky, Chopin [etc.].
1922 V. Woolf Jacob's Room iii. 60 There were photographs from the Greeks, and a mezzotint from Sir Joshua.
1951 W. Styron Lie down in Darkness vii. 338 She..held up the mezzotint to the light and kissed it once.
1990 Antique Winter 159/1 The quality of painting in England..had declined sharply and mezzotint, as a reproductive craft, suffered for it.
Compounds
mezzotint print n. now historical (a) Engraving a print produced by the mezzotint method (sense 2); (b) Photography a type of photograph produced by placing a sheet of glass or other transparent material between the negative and the photographic paper during the developing process.
ΚΠ
1713Metzotint print [see sense 2].
1871 M. C. Lea Man. Photogr. (ed. 2) vi. 194 Others modify the effects..by interposing a sheet of glass, of gelatin, of mica, or of tissue paper between the negative and the paper; in this way are made the so-called Mezzotint Prints.
2010 P. B. Zarrilli Theatre Histories ii. v. 260 (caption) Figure 5.8 Mr. Garrick in Hamlet, mezzotint print by James McArdell,1754, after a painting by Benjamin Wilson.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
mezzotintv.
/ˈmɛtsəʊtɪnt/, /ˈmɛdzəʊtɪnt/, /ˈmɛzəʊtɪnt/, U.S. /ˈmɛtsoʊˌtɪnt/, /ˈmɛ(d)zoʊˌtɪnt/ Now rare.
1. transitive. To engrave in mezzotint.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > engrave in intaglio [verb (transitive)] > mezzotint
mezzotint1827
mezzotinto1846
1827 Gentleman's Mag. 97 ii. 3 Mezzotinting those on the motto.
1829 Gentleman's Mag. 99 i. 347 By this discovery the lithographer acquires a very valuable process for mezzotinting.
1881 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 601 The picture was..afterwards mezzotinted very indifferently.
1999 Creative Rev. (Nexis) 1 Mar. 17 The pictures were mezzotinted.., handpainted with bright, primary colours and finally silkscreened.
2. transitive (in passive). To be represented or appear as if in mezzotint.
ΚΠ
1860 A. B. Street Woods & Waters 118 The dripping forest, and the river, mezzotinted with the ceaseless drops, looked forlorn and desolate.
1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 248 The..passengers..crawled out again,..their vealy faces mezzotinted with soot.
1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows (1871) 42 How many times I had lingered to study the shadows of the leaves mezzotinted upon the turf.
Derivatives
ˈmezzotinted adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [adjective] > mezzotint
mezzotinted1877
1877 ‘Rita’ Vivienne vi. ii The room was furnished with quaint mezzo-tinted cinque-cento furniture.
2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 19 July 13/4 In our mezzotinted memories..he seems almost to be whistling scherzos.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1713
v.1827