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Dürer, Rembrandt and Picasso
Big Three in Printmaking
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Dürer, Rembrandt, Picasso. The three names have an incredible cachet in the international world of art. Each one reached the pinnacle of achievement within the mediums of his time. |
Albrect Dürer
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The phrase 'Germany's greatest artist' is often used to describe Albrecht Dürer. Germany led the world in print making during Dürer's time. |
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Dürer's print making brought him fame well outside his homeland during his life time. |
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Dürer is considered to be the first artist who used print making as an art form in and of itself. The artist believed in accuracy in his works, the abstract was well beyond his time and not in his nature. He applied the same philosophy to his printmaking. |
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Rembrandt van Rijn
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The master of the Night Watch didn't achieve his international fame for his paintings during his lifestyle. That might sound strange but during the 17th Century his paintings could only be viewed by standing before them. |
Rembrandt understood that printmaking required a gentle touch of a draftsman. This was a new approach to the medium.
Rembrandt often combined drypoint and etching on a single plate limiting the number of prints that were possible before the quality nosedived. The perfectionist did his own printmaking not using a professional unlike most others of his time.
Pablo Picasso
The Spanish artist Pablo Picasso was the preeminent printmaker of the 20th Century. During his lifetime he created more than 1,000 prints these included etchings, engravings, woodcuts and lithographs.
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Picasso spent much of his life in France and he is widely credited with making that country a leader in print making during his lifetime. It wouldn't be Picasso if it wasn't unique. As he added his own persona to his ceramics he did the same with his prints. He was an accomplished graphic artist who studied with known printing geniuses including Roger Lacouriere, Eugene Delatre and Louis Forn. |
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In 1959 Pablo Picasso invented the one-block technique of linocut printing which allowed him to create richly colored works on paper. |
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Picasso, Rembrandt and Dürer all were creative in their mediums and all were master printmakers.
Durer, Rembrandt, Picasso
Big Three in Printmaking
Detroit Institute of Arts:
September 13 - December 31, 2006
