Sharing images: Renaissance prints into maiolica and bronze

Abstract

"It is well known that the advent of the printed image in the Renaissance transformed the content, appearance, and function of art in the following centuries. As rapidly producible multiples, prints could broadcast visual motifs, compositions, subjects, and styles with unprecedented speed and to an ever-expanding audience. The print, more than any other medium, created an artistic canon that went beyond geographic and medial boundaries. The two art forms most directly and dramatically influenced by prints in the Renaissance were ceramics and bronze plaquettes. Brightly painted maiolica and minutely crafted bronze reliefs are among the most beautiful and intriguing objects produced in the period. Sharing Images: Renaissance Prints into Maiolica and Bronze documents the National Gallery of Art exhibition that brings prints, istoriato maiolica, and plaquettes into the same space, addressing the impact prints had on the decorative arts but also the modalities of their reception, highlighting the remarkably creative engagement artists and craftsmen had with their models."--Provided by publisher.