CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

Die Anfänge der europäischen Druckgraphik: Holzschnitte des 15. Jahrhunderts und ihr Gebrauch

Origins of European printmaking: 15th-century woodcuts and their public Exhibition: 15 December 2005 - 19 March 2006

Lower Rhenish or Netherlandish, ca. 1480, <i>Calvary</i>, National Gallery of Art, Washington”><br />
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<p class=Lower Rhenish or Netherlandish, ca. 1480
Calvary, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Co-organizers

National Gallery of Art, Washington
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg

Curator

Peter Parshall, curator of Old Master prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington

From the museum website

Die Ausstellung handelt von der Geburt eines „Massenmediums“ im späten Mittelalter. Die ältesten Bilddrucke verdanken ihre Entstehung einer wachsenden Nachfrage nach privatem Besitz an religiösen Bildern. Von den massenhaft gedruckten frühen Einblattholzschnitten mit ihrer eindringlichen Bildsprache sind nur wenige erhalten. Sie gehören heute zum kostbarsten Besitz der Graphischen Sammlungen. In Zusammenarbeit mit der National Gallery of Art, Washington, und führenden Fachwissenschaftlern konzipiert und unterstützt mit hochkarätigen Leihgaben aus ganz Europa und den USA, gibt die Ausstellung einen faszinierenden Einblick in die Frühgeschichte der Druckgraphik.

From the website of the National Gallery of Art

The first mass-production of images in Europe occurred in the 15th century, making it possible for people of all stations to own a picture. This exhibition of some 140 early woodcuts, books, printed textiles, and other related objects examines the role of replicated images in late medieval culture. Most often early prints provided an inexpensive and easily available picture of a favorite saint or an event from the Passion, but they also made possible the circulation and improvement of maps, the instruction of memory, and notification of counterfeit coins. The exhibition will explore how prints were used and understood in their time, including images designed to convey a New Year’s greeting, commemorate pilgrimages, transmit the touch of a holy relic, exorcise demons, and apply for time off in purgatory. Approximately one-third of the exhibition comes from the National Gallery of Art’s outstanding collection, together with works from the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, and loans from many other public and private collections throughout Europe and America.

Other venue

Washington, National Gallery of Art (4 September-27 November 2005)