Past Exhibitions
A Reformation of Style:
Religion & Printmaking, 1500 - 1650
November 20 – December 13, 2013
Student curator: Caitlin DiMartino ‘14
As the final exhibition of the fall 2013 semester, the Martin Art Gallery is pleased to feature A Reformation of Style: Religion & Printmaking, 1500 – 1650.
Albrecht Dürer Assumption & Coronation of the Virgin, 1510 Woodcut
Caitlin DiMartino, Class of 2014, recently mined the depths of the College’s Florence Foerderer Tonner Collection to select 23 prints and one book made by artists whose work spans the pre-and post-Reformation period in Europe.
The crux of her research was the shifting religious climate that began in 1517, the year Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther’s call for Church reform sparked more than 100 years of religious, social, and political unrest known today as the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation.
Her selections include work by universally recognized artists of the era, Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt van Rijn. Other choices— Lucas Cranach, the Elder, Hans Sebald Beham and Urs Graf are not as well-known today. Whatever their current status, they all were master printmakers of their age. Using a variety of techniques — woodcut, hand-colored wood engraving, and etching — they created intimate and accessible religious imagery of remarkable beauty and detail.
“These artists were not immune to the affects of religious change on their respective environments”, points out Caitlin. “Their experimentation in style and ideas pushed boundaries and expressed either their personal devotion to, or departure from, religious ideology. As well, the growing popularity of printmaking and its accessibility to the general population paralleled the progression of the religious reforms and enabled the population to understand and respond to this period of unprecedented change.”
Caitlin DiMartino is pursuing a double major in art history and religion studies and will graduate from Muhlenberg College in May 2014. Dr. Margo Hobbs, associate professor of art history, was her academic advisor for this project. A reception to meet Caitlin and celebrate the opening of the exhibition will be held Wednesday, November 20, 4:30 – 6:00 PM in the Gallery. Caitlin will give a gallery talk Thursday, Nov. 21, 12:45 – 1:30. The exhibition, reception and talk are free and open to the public.
Gallery hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon – 8:00 p.m., additional hours by appointment.
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