Harvard Exhibition Highlights the History of Engraving and Its Attraction Today
"Precision and Prestige: The Arts of Engraving" Got Its Start in a Student Seminar
Cambridge, MA (August 30, 2001)—Precision and Prestige: The Arts of Engraving, an in-depth examination of engraving since its invention in the 15th century, is now being presented at Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum. The exhibition, which features approximately 65 objects, including tools of the trade, was organized by four students under the guidance of Marjorie B. Cohn, Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints, and will remain open through December 2, 2001. Divided into four sections, the show focuses on the development of techniques, portrait engraving, reproductive styles, and engraving in the 20th century.
As the title of the exhibition suggests, engraving is the most prestigious printmaking technique of all time. In the nearly 600 years since its invention, it has been through several historic changes—none more significant than when photography was invented. Though the exhibition features recognized masterpieces of printmaking, including works by Andrea Mantegna, Albrecht Dürer, and William Blake, these represent only a small part of the history of this art form. Works by Jan Muller, Robert Strange, Antonio Perfetti, and Gustav Kruell, now entirely forgotten masters of the profession, are included to complete the story.
"Although engraving is virtually a lost art form, tedious and impressive, we are able to appreciate the technique through a vivid exhibition like Precision and Prestige," said James Cuno, Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director of the Harvard University Art Museums. "The students who organized this exhibition, with the guidance of our experienced curator of prints, have created a tremendous resource." The student curators were Johanna Richardson and Suzanne Gauron of the Class of 2001; Nenita Elphick, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History of Art and Architecture; and Maya Benton, Ed.M. candidate in the Graduate School of Education.
The first of the exhibition’s four segments shows the development of engraving from its very beginning in the mid-15th century to its perfection in the art of Dürer. This section defines the importance and variety of graphic syntax, an essential concept for a linear art in black and white that purports to represent form and color.
The second section deals with portraits, since portrait engraving was the single most important branch of the technique, and engravers throughout history were ranked by their skills in portraiture. It is here that the impact of photography is explored, in Matthew Brady’s photographs of Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln’s representation on the $5 bill, as well as more conventional engraved portraits.
The third section examines the use of engraving for reproduction, as it was through engravings that the styles, compositions, and subjects of paintings and sculpture were disseminated before the development of photomechanical reproduction. Art history today traces its roots back to the time when artworks could be studied only through their translation into engravings.
The final section of the exhibition looks at engraving in the 20th century, when its use by a printmaker represented a conscious, and unfashionable, choice. It continues to be employed both to create abstraction and as a manifesto of reactionary style.
"This exhibition was the direct result of four dedicated and disciplined students taking the seminar course on engraving in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard," said Cohn, the Fogg’s curator of prints. "Precision and Prestige can be seen as the purest manifestation of our mission as a museum dedicated to teaching and research—learning through the development of a unifying concept that requires the study and organized presentation of works of art."
Included in the exhibition are an engraved Etruscan gem; a 15th -century Book of Hours; a 16th-century astronomical compendium—an instrument for telling time, making measurements, and navigating; photographs; and assorted engraving tools. Though the exhibition is culled mainly from the collection at the Fogg Art Museum, several objects are loans from the Harvard Historic Scientific Instruments Collection, Yale University Art Gallery, and four private lenders.
Gallery Talks
Precision and Prestige: The Arts of Engraving
Fogg Art Museum
Saturday, September 15, 11:30 a.m.
Marjorie B. Cohn, Carl A. Weyerhauser Curator of Prints
Sunday, October 14, 2 p.m.
Johanna Richardson, Class of 2001 and co-curator of the exhibition
Sunday, October 21, 2 p.m.
Suzanne Gauron, Class of 2001 and co-curator of the exhibition
Sunday, November 4, 2 p.m.
Nenita Elphick, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History of Art and Architecture,
and co-curator of the exhibition
Saturday, December 1, 11:30 a.m.
Maya Benton, Ed.M. candidate, Graduate School of Education, and co-curator
of the exhibition
The Harvard University Art Museums
The Harvard University Art Museums is one of the leading arts institutions
in the United States and the world. It is distinguished by the range and
depth of its collections, its groundbreaking exhibitions, and the original
research of its staff. For more than a century, it has been the nation’s
premier training ground for museum professionals and scholars and is renowned
for its seminal and ongoing role in the development of the discipline
of art history in this country.
The three art museums at Harvard—the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Fogg Art Museum—are all outstanding institutions in their respective fields. The Fogg also houses the Straus Center for Conservation, long a leader in the research and development of scientific and technology-based analysis of art, as well as the U. S. headquarters for the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, an ongoing excavation project in western Turkey. The 150,000 objects in the art museums’ collections range in date from ancient times to the present and come from Europe, North America, North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Each museum also has an active program of special exhibitions that promotes new scholarship in its areas of focus.
As an integral component of the Harvard University community, the three art museums serve as a resource for all students, adding a special dimension to their areas of study. The public is welcome to experience the collections and special exhibitions as well as to enjoy lectures, symposia, and other programs in the various museums.
The collections are divided among ten curatorial areas: Ancient and Byzantine Art and Numismatics; Architecture and Design; Asian Art; Busch-Reisinger Museum; Drawings; Islamic and Later Indian Art; Modern and Contemporary Art; Paintings, Sculpture and Decorative Arts; Prints; and Photographs. Developed with an emphasis on their value for teaching and research, these holdings are a uniquely broad and rich resource that is continually enhanced through gifts and acquisitions. Together, the holdings of the three museums comprise one of the finest university art collections in the world, with resources rivaling those of many major public museums.
The Straus Center for Conservation is the oldest fine arts conservation treatment, research, and training facility in the United States. The Center specializes in the conservation of paintings, sculpture, decorative objects, historic and archaeological artifacts, and works of art on paper. Its team members are pioneers in developing new applications of digital imaging in conservation. The Center’s state-of-the-art facilities support a broad range of analytical services.
The Art Museums are open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, 1–5 p.m., and are closed on national holidays. Admission is $5.00; $4.00 for senior citizens; $3.00 for students; free under 18, and for all individuals on Saturdays until noon and all day on Wednesdays.
For general information, call 617-495-9400 or visit www.artmuseums.harvard.edu. All groups of seven or more must schedule in advance by calling 617-496-8576. The Harvard University Art Museums receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
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