Outstanding hypnotic prints by Dürer, Edvard Munch & Miró
Celebrated masters of printmaking Albrecht Dürer, Edvard Munch & Joan Miró
Madonna, 1895/1902, Colour lithography, Edvard Munch, ALBERTINA, Wien
Icons of print Albrecht Dürer, Edvard Munch & Joan Miró
In the exhibition Great Masters of Printmaking, the Albertina Museum in Vienna presents a retrospective of the history of printmaking over six centuries with masterpieces such as Albrecht Dürer’s Knight, Death and the Devil, Joan Miró’s Abstract Composition and The Kiss by Edvard Munch.
The Barricade, 1871 Lithography, Edouard Manet, ALBERTINA, Wien
Like no other collection in the world, the Albertina can exhibit the history of the graphic arts with outstanding pieces taken from its own collection.
Self-Portrait, 1639, Etching and drypoint, Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, ALBERTINA, Wien
The invention of printing is one of the most outstanding artistic achievements of the late Middle Ages.
Related Vatican Museum’s collection of contemporary art
The mass reproduction of images only became possible in Central Europe with the arrival of paper production in the late fourteenth century.
Pointing out the Route (Dead Souls), 1923–1927, Etching and drypoint, Marc Chagall, ALBERTINA, Wien
Woodblock printing appeared in the early fifteenth century, copperplate engraving before the middle of the century, and etching shortly before 1500.
Related Japanese printmakers Akira & Tadayoshi expand the art form
Printmaking became an independent art genre that soon equalled painting. Compared to woodcut and copperplate engraving, which required more work and material costs, etching offered greater scope for artistic experimentation and creative freedom.
Phaeton, 1588, Engraving, Hendrick Goltzius, ALBERTINA, Wien
Moreover, due to the spontaneous ductus [Latin for the direction, sequence and speed of a moving pencil] of its line image, it is closer to drawing than other printing techniques.
Related Ukiyo-e Japanese wood block prints of Utagawa Hiroshige
Starting in the early nineteenth century, lithography allowed large print editions without losing print quality.
Three Blue Macaws, 1909, Colour woodcut, Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel, ALBERTINA, Wien
From the 1960s onwards, a ground-breaking redefinition of printmaking emerged: the principle of serial work and the magnification of the medium were discovered by both female and male artists.
Ground-breaking printmaking emerged
Throughout the centuries, artists have explored various printing techniques, initially with gouges and gravers, later with dry point, and then with etching processes, up to the complex chemical steps of lithography.
The Clowness at the Moulin Rouge, 1897, Colour lithography, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, ALBERTINA, Wien
This medium conquered all European countries, from Spain to the Netherlands, Germany to Italy and Norway to England.
Related Van Gogh fabulous Roulin family portraits
The variety of subjects artists use is as diverse as the technique itself: portraits, landscapes, sacred stories, or socially critical images.
Rhinocervs, 1515, Woodcut and type printing, Albrecht Dürer, ALBERTINA, Wien
The exhibition, Dürer. Munch. Miró. The Great Masters of Printmaking presents outstanding works of the ‘Old Masters’ including Albrecht Dürer, Pieter Bruegel and Rembrandt van Rijn.
Related Odysseys of Art Masterpieces private Liechtenstein Princely art collection
Also included are impressive works of modern and contemporary art as exemplified by the magnificent lithographs of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the Norwegian Edvard Munch’s revolutionary, symbolist-expressionist woodcuts.
Untitled, 1974, Aquatint and etching, Joan Miró, ALBERTINA, Wien
The works of Marc Chagall and Joan Miró close the exhibition.
Contemporary art exemplified by the magnificent lithographs
Käthe Kollwitz, Portuguese Paula Rego, and the Austrian artist Florentina Pakosta represent influential women artists.
Text & photos courtesy of the Albertina Museum
