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Sharing Images: Renaissance Prints into Maiolica and Bronze

April 1 – August 5, 2018
West Building, Ground Floor, Inner Tier Galleries

Left: Unknown artist, Plate with the Plague of Phrygia (after Raphael), c. 1535/1540, tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica), overall: 1 x 10 1/2 in. (2.54 x 26.67 cm), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection)

Right: Marcantonio Raimondi after Raphael, The Plague, engraving, sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 19.5 x 25.2 cm (7 11/16 x 9 15/16 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of W.G. Russell Allen

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Inspired by the acquisition of the important William A. Clark maiolica (glazed Italian ceramics) collection from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and drawing largely on the Gallery’s newly expanded holdings, this exhibition brings together some 90 objects to highlight the impact of Renaissance prints on maiolica and bronze plaquettes, the two media most dramatically influenced by the new technology of image replication. Focusing on designs by major artists such as Andrea Mantegna, Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Parmigianino, and Albrecht Dürer, the exhibition tells the story of how printed images were transmitted, transformed, and translated onto ceramics and small bronze reliefs, creating a shared visual canon across artistic media and geographical boundaries. The first exhibition of its kind in the United States, Sharing Images is accompanied by a publication that provides a comprehensive introduction to different aspects of the phenomenon, from the role of 15th-century prints and the rediscovery of ancient art to the importance of illustrated books and the artistic exchanges between Italy and northern Europe.

Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Sponsors: The exhibition is made possible by a generous grant from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust.

Additional funding is provided by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art.

Passes: Admission is always free and passes are not required

Attendance: 35,753

Catalog: Sharing Images: Renaissance Prints into Maiolica and Bronze. By Jamie Gabbarelli and Jonathan Bober. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art; Surrey, U.K.: Lund Humphries, 2017.

Mantegna, Andrea
Italian, 1431 - 1506
Pollaiuolo, Antonio del
Italian, 1431 - 1498
Raphael
Italian, 1483 - 1520
Michelangelo
Italian, 1475 - 1564
Parmigianino
Italian, 1503 - 1540
Dürer, Albrecht
German, 1471 - 1528