This doctoral dissertation presents a novel methodology of focusing on one artistic medium and treating it as an agent of the creative process. It explores the revival of drypoint technique in the nineteenth century, bringing together the methods of technical art history and printmaking studies. The central question of the dissertation is “Why did drypoint become popular in the second half of the nineteenth century”, to which an answer is sought by looking into the historical context, the personalities involved, and the artworks they produced. I regard the exploration of drypoint not only as technical analysis, aimed at understanding how prints were made, but as an attempt to reconstruct the relationship between artist and medium. In other words, by studying making, I explore how drypoint’s aesthetics and working method corresponded to the various interests of the artists who used it, such as their aesthetic concepts, creative agendas, and career aspirations.