Graphic cabinet: «Chiaroscuro». Italian Colored Woodcuts of the 16th and 17th Centuries
The Kunstmuseum Bern will continue the presentations of its collection of old prints following the exhibition of graphic works by the Carracci in 2007 and Hendrick Goltzius in 2009.
This year we will be exhibiting a varied selection of Italian colored woodcuts from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. They are chiaroscuro woodcuts, which have a very special status in the art of printmaking. A refinement of the traditional single block woodcut, this new tech-nique was developed shortly after 1500 in Germany. The drawing of the contours and crosshatching on the line or key block was supplemented with one or more tone blocks that pro-duced colored areas. This method opened up new possibilities for woodcuts, which otherwise typi-cally had a linear quality. Prints now could achieve rich effects of color and painterly impres-sions of light and shade, resembling drawings with shades of dark wash and highlights of white gouache.
The exhibition presents the works of artists such as Ugo da Carpi, who introduced the technique of colored prints to Italy, Adrea Andreani, and Bartolomeo Coriolano. They made prints after the designs of Raphael, Parmigianino, Federico Barocci, and Guido Reni.
