Théodore Roussel

Théodore Roussel created the prints using this plate and some of these tools.

The copper plate’s surface was first coated in a thin layer of ground (usually asphaltum, wax, and rosin), into which Roussel drew with a needle, marking the surface of the plate. The ground’s malleability allowed Roussel to make lines as easily as if he were sketching on paper with a pen. Once the drawn image was complete, Roussel placed the plate into a basin filled with acid, allowing the solution to “bite” into the drawn lines, incising them into the plate.

Artists can further modify their images using other tools. A roulette can be rolled over the plate’s surface, creating a regular dotted pattern. A burnisher is rubbed onto the plate’s surface, smoothing it and creating areas that usually print as white. A scraper can remove areas where the plate has been marked, erasing them from the image. The artist can continue changing the plate by marking it with the needle, or with the burin, which digs more deeply into the plate’s surface