Chiaroscuro prints Workshop 20 February 2012

Monday, February 20, 14.00-16.00 h, lecture room, University Library, second floor.

Prints are often viewed as a monochrome medium. This widely held opinion however ignores the important role played by the coloured print, which appears for the first time in German book printing halfway through the fifteenth century. Although colour prints initially sought to imitate hand-coloured miniatures artists such as Hans Burgkmair soon developed the chiaroscuro print, or the coloured woodcut, which would subsequently be developed to new artistic heights during the sixteenth century by Italian and Netherlandish artists such as Ugo da Carpi and Hendrick Goltzius.

The aim of this lecture is to present an overview of the history of the coloured print, and in particular the chiaroscuro woodcut, through the Special Collections Printroom of the UB Leiden. Particular attention will be paid to the status of the chiaroscuro print in art historical literature and artistic practice between ca. 1450 and 1650, a subject that has only recently begun to attract the attention of specialists. How did the chiaroscuro print come into being and what is its relation to other, contemporary art forms such as sculpture and drawing? Participants in this workshop will be able to see and study works by famous printmakers such as Hans Burgkmair, Ugo da Carpi and Hendrick Goltzius.

Registration: N.L.Bartelings@hum.leidenuniv.nl