Print Exhibition: Chiaroscuro Woodcuts: Color and Reproduction

May–2 September 1985

The chiaroscuro woodcut was the first of the graphic arts to use colored inks to simulate the effects of light and shadow – chiaroscuro. The technique was used most often to reproduce famous or innovative drawings and paintings for distribution to a wider public. Today, these prints are recognized for the creative use of design and color by the individuals who produced them. The exhibition centered around 12 woodcuts borrowed from the Smart’s permanent collection from the French and Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods, which were created over a 200-year time span. The exhibition included what is perhaps the earliest known print, Sybil Reading, After Raphael, by Ugo da Carpi based on a painting by the Renaissance master, Raphael.

Curator: John C. Baum, graduate student, Department of Art, University of Chicago. 

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