Focus on the Collection:
Drawn in Copper, Italian Prints in the Age of Barocci
September 14, 2012–January 13, 2013
Drawn in Copper, Italian Prints in the Age of Barocci presents a selection of prints made by artists active in the Italian cities of Bologna, Genoa, Rome and at the court of Francis I at Fontainebleau from the last half of the 16th century through the first half of the 17th. During this period, countless painters throughout Europe picked up an etching needle and began to create compositions in copper that mimicked the spontaneity and informality of drawings. Consequently they have come to be called painter-etchers to differentiate them from meticulously trained engravers. Etchings as well as engravings are included in the exhibition, demonstrating the variety of possible visual effects as well as subjects, from Greek mythology to Christianity. The artists, including Agostino Carracci, Antonio Fantuzzi, Camillo Procaccini, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione and Pietro Testa, were the predecessors, contemporaries and successors of Federico Barocci, who was one of the most astonishingly accomplished painter-etchers of the 16th century.

Drawn in Copper, Italian Prints in the Age of Barocci is presented as a complement to the special exhibition Federico Barocci: Renaissance Master. Curated by Elizabeth Wyckoff, curator of prints, drawings, and photographs, it will be on view from September 14, 2012 through January 13, 2013 in Gallery 321.

The Museum's collection includes over 14,000 prints, drawings, and photographs, which are exhibited on a rotating basis, as in this series of "Focus on the Collection" exhibitions. Works on paper may also be viewed by appointment in the Study Room for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs on the fourth floor of the Cass Gilbert building. Call 314.655.5402 or email paper@slam.org for an appointment or more information.