Though printmaking had been popular as an artistic medium since the Renaissance, it found new expression in the work of Rembrandt van Rijn. With his work from the years 1630-1661, Rembrandt pressed the technical aspects of the medium to new limits. He was the first etcher to print on different kinds of paper to create different expressive effects, and also the first to dramatically alter the image on a plate from its first edition through successive printings.