Treasures of Printmaking

Last Friday evening, Glenn and I went to an exhibit at the Petit Palais showcasing an extensive set of prints using many different techniques:  woodcuts, etchings, engravings, lithographs, and monotypes.  It was entitled Tresors en Noir et Blanc (Treasures in Black and White), which I think gave the mistaken impression that the exhibit would be focused on black and white, perhaps how artists use high contrast in their work of various media, or the visual impact of these two neutrals used together, or something like that.  Instead, it was really just an exhibit of a fabulous collection of prints from a few masters--Durer, Rembrandt, Goya--and others, mostly, but not exclusively, in black and white.  The exhibit did a nice job of showing how the various printing techniques differed.  They had cases for each technique represented with plates, supplies, inks, tools, and simple graphics illustrating the process.  I am at least somewhat familiar with the various techniques, so I didn't think to take any photos of the cases, but I thought they were well-done and instructive.

I did, of course, take plenty of photos of the art.  The print at the top of the post was one of my favorites in the exhibit.  It is a lithograph circa 1900 by an artist that I didn't know, Andre Devambez.  It is called "L'Emeute ou La Charge."  There are so many things I love about it.  I love the perspective, as if from a window overlooking the action, but at an angle.  I also love that the nature of the action is immediately recognizable as police quelling a protest or unrest of some kind.  The contrast between the uniformity of the police line and the heterogeneity of the crowd is striking.  And the sense of both movement and tension is palpable.  I love the lights from the cafes and the resulting shadows cast by the onlookers.  And, finally, I love the fact that the action spilled out onto the matboard framing the print.

That print was more contemporary than most in the exhibition.  As I said, masters from previous centuries were featured.  Durer, of course, is rightly famous for his printmaking, and the exhibit had many fine examples.  Here are a couple of details from his work.  There is the famous rhinoceros, of course, followed by details of two villages, the first done with woodblock printing and the second an etching (I believe).  The subtlety and texture that can be achieved with the etching is striking, but I still love the bold lines of the woodblock print.  

Here are a couple of details from Rembrandt's prints.  Again, they had a excellent set.  The style is so different from Durer's, the images being achieved almost entirely by cross-hatching and with different densities, weights of lines, shapes of hatches, and so forth.  See, especially, his self-portrait below.

And finally, here are a few other assorted prints that I loved.  The first is "L'Hiver a Paris" by Felix Buhot.  Reminiscent of the drawings on the matboard of the first print, the themes of the main image are echoed in the framing images.  It is like a collage that Google Photos' AI algorithm might make for you (but better). 

This photo gives a real close-up of the visual contrast one can get from employing different textures.  Note how the shading gradient of the background is achieved within a consistent cross-hatching pattern by using thicker lines in the darker areas (to the left).

These last two might also be Durer prints, but I'm not sure.  The perspective, surface textures, and shadow work on the first is just so lovely.  In the final photo that I include, one of a landscape print, the way that foreground (tree, gathering of people) and background (buildings) is achieved is brilliant.

It was an outstanding exhibition which both Glenn and I enjoyed tremendously.  I'm not sure that Black and White was really the point of the exhibit, but I am very glad we went.