Group show
State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now
curated by David Maskill with his Honours Students
11 October – 20 December 2013
Almost from the invention of printmaking in Renaissance Europe, artists, printmakers, and publishers have recognised the revolutionary potential of the technology to copy and widely disseminate works of art. This exhibition explored a history of reproductive prints and their ever-more sophisticated imitation of the pictorial qualities of paintings and drawings. Curated by David Maskill with his Art History Honours students, it showcased reproductive prints from the sixteenth century through to the present day, to examine the changing motives, markets, technologies, and audiences for such work.
Artists included in the exhibition were John Webber, Edward Kaiser, Giorgio Ghisi, Cesari Mariannecci, Wilhelm Greve, Pierre Crozat, Anne-Claude Philippe de Tubiéres, comte de Caylus, Pierre-Jean Mariette, Nicolas Lesueur, Nicolas de Larmessin, Jean-Joseph Balechou, Henri Simon Thomassin, Pierre Filloeul, Bernard Baron, Simon François Ravenet, Gérard Jean Baptiste II Scotin, William Hogarth, François Bonvin, Alphonse Legros, Ferdinand Gaillard, Andrew Geddes, Jake Chapman, Dinos Chapman, and Francisco de Goya y Lucientes
This exhibition was generously supported by Photography by Woolf.
Installation view, State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh
![Installation view of State of the art at the Adam Art Gallery, showing John Webber (1751-1793), View in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, New Zealand, ca. 1820. Hand-coloured etching and aquatint from Views in the South Seas / from drawings by James [i.e. John] Webber, London: Boydell, 1808 [i.e. ca. 1820], 292 x 414mm. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Library. Photo: Shaun Waugh](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/h84sqrxf/production/8c3578a1890bc1b68296fffa9dc973d70f3a8b07-2022x2880.jpg?w=3840&q=95&fit=clip&auto=format)
John Webber (1751-1793), View in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, New Zealand, ca. 1820. Hand-coloured etching and aquatint from Views in the South Seas / from drawings by James [i.e. John] Webber, London: Boydell, 1808 [i.e. ca. 1820], 292 x 414mm. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Library. Installation view, State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh
Giorgio Ghisi (1520-1582) after Michelangelo (1475-1564), The Last Judgement, fifth state, after 1650 (original date of publication mid-1540s), engraving, 1223 x 1072mm. Private collection
Installation view, State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh
Installation view, State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh
Installation view, State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh
Nicolas de Larmessin (1684-1755) after Raphael (1483-1520), Vision of Ezekiel, engraving and etching, 440 x 309mm. From Recueil d'estampes d'après les plus beaux tableaux et d'après les plus beaux desseins qui sont en France…, Paris: Imprimerie royale, 2 vols, 1729-1742, vol. 1, plate 28. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington Library
Installation view, State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh
Installation view, State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh
Installation view, State of the art: reproductive prints from the Renaissance to now, Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2013. Photo: Shaun Waugh
Detail of Jake (b. 1966) and Dinos (b. 1962) Chapman, Insult to Injury wallpaper, 2009, digital print on wallpaper, 10000 x 520mm. Courtesy White Cube, London, © Jake and Dinos Chapman