PUNTASECCA. — By "p." is meant the engraving obtained by the artist working directly on the metal plate with a burin having a conical point, or, when a particularly fine work is required, with a diamond point.
The line produced is not sharp because of the burrs that blur its edges and give the print a singular velvety softness; on the other hand, their extreme fragility considerably limits the number of good impressions that can be pulled from a plate unless the plate itself is steel-faced. This technique, used alone or combined with others—especially etching—is still among the most widely employed today.
BIBL.: C. A. Petrucci, Incisione, in Enc. Ital., XVIII (1933); R. Bonfils, Initiation à la gravure, Paris 1939, p. 36.