Aquatint is a type of intaglio printmaking prized by artists for its ability to create richly toned areas in an image. Unlike the related printmaking techniques of etching, engraving, and drypoint—all line-based—aquatint allows for shading. An artist creates an aquatint by first covering a metal plate with a fine, even layer of powdered rosin—made from dried pine tree sap. The rosin is baked onto the plate so it forms hardened, acid resistant dots. The artist submerges the plate in a tank of acid, allowing the acid to bite at the exposed areas around the rosin. When printed, these areas form shaded areas ranging from very light to dark and velvety. The artist can control the shade depending on how long the plate remains in the acid, along with controlling which areas of the plate are exposed to acid by painting on an acid-resistant stop-out. Aquatint allows the practiced artist to create passages of light and darkness that appear almost painterly. It is often used in combination with other intaglio methods.

Originally invented in the late seventeenth century, aquatint was refined by a group of British printmakers in the eighteenth century. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Spanish artist Francisco Goya used aquatint to create his hauntingly beautiful print series Los caprichos and Los desastres de la guerra. Many contemporary artists use aquatint to create tonal prints, including Wayne Thiebaud, Alex Katz, Joan Jonas, Robert Mangold, Richard Diebenkorn, Jasper Johns, Glenn Ligon, and James Turrell.