For years, the German artist Georg Baselitz has been collecting the products of printmaking in Mannerist-period Europe. A special group of works within his collection, the prints by the painter Francesco Mazzola, known as Il Parmigianino (1503-1540), has now undergone in-depth scholarly investigation and is being presented in this exhibition. Curated by Martin Sonnabend.
curated by Martin Sonnabend
For years, the German artist Georg Baselitz has been collecting the products of printmaking in Mannerist-period Europe. A special group of works within his collection, the prints by the painter Francesco Mazzola, known as Il Parmigianino (1503 – 1540), has now undergone in-depth scholarly investigation and is being presented in an exhibition at the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung (State Graphic Collection) in Munich before coming to the Städel Department of Prints and Drawings in the summer of 2008. In the period around 1530, Parmigianino concentrated on etching and the colour woodcut, two relatively new printing techniques whose potentials he explored and expanded by means of experimentation.
He was particularly interested in etching as a printmaking medium that would accommodate his drawing style, which was highly developed and is today considered art in its own right. Since for him they held the status of mere experiments, he made only a few prints of each work. They nevertheless came to exert great influence on artists of both his own and later times, in the form of reprints and copies alike. Parmigianino also worked with other printmakers, and an entire circle developed around his oeuvre and was strongly influenced by it.
In addition to works by Parmigianino himself, the exhibition accordingly shows examples by other artists associated with him. The prints from the Baselitz Collection are supplemented by works in the possession of the Städel Museum as well as a small number of loans from elsewhere.
Special event:
A conversation with Georg Baselitz on collecting old prints
Georg Baselitz and Dr. Martin Sonnabend,
Sunday, 8 June 2008, 2 pm, Städel Museum, Metzler-Saal
Stadel Museum
Schaumainkai 63 - Frankfurt