Early Netherlandish Engravings (c.1440-1540)

This volume examines the art of printing from engraved metal plates, developed in South Germany in the first half of the 15th century, and spread quickly throughout the Netherlands. The first engravings specifically designed as book illustrations date from 1476. Most of the early Masters remain anonymous, but the Ashmolean's collections include work by Jean Gossaert (Mabuse, c.1478-1523), who travelled in Italy where he saw the work of his contemporaries Raphael and Michelangelo and whose Italianate style is demonstrated in "The Man of Sorrows" (c.1525, illustrated). Other artists include Lucas van Leyden and Dirck Vellert (designer and painter of some of the stained glass in King's College Chapel). German engravers include Albrecht Durer, Martin Schongauer and the Master ES - the first Master to use cross-hatching. The catalogue includes a bibliography and an index of all the engravings, and etchings by Netherlandish artists of the period in the Ashmolean's collections.