Raphael’s and Annibale Carracci’s frescoes, are exemplary of some of the most impressive works created in the history of art. For centuries, woodcuts, engravings and etchings had a decisive influence on the visual dissemination of these masterpieces. What strategies were developed to reproduce decorative imagery in prints? How were dome paintings successfully transposed to the flat surfaces of paper? Exceptional folios and montages of imagery ‒ in a wide spectrum spanning from Mantegna to Tiepolo as well as from Andrea Andreani and Giulio Bonasone to Carlo Cesio ‒ provide answers to these questions.
The Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München has compiled an overview of outstanding examples of prints in a branch of printmaking that has received little notice until now. The exhibition catalogue shows how art can be transformed into new art; how complex and large works have been translated into the easily readable and convenient format of prints. In addition, to select key works, the catalogue includes the entire collection of approximately 1,000 folios made after wall and ceiling imagery. Among other categorizations, these are broken down into printmakers, original painters and locations.