History of Prints

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course surveys the history of prints (mainly reproducible images on paper) in Europe and the United States c. 1400 – the present. Although they are sometimes treated as a secondary art, prints were absolutely central to the development of post-medieval western art and society. As relatively inexpensive, multiplied objects, they fundamentally reshaped ideas about what images could look like, mean, and accomplish. The role of prints in the cultivation and spread of new ideas, an international art market, propaganda, social commentary, and much more is immeasurable. The course will combine two main approaches: 1) the distinctive history of printmaking, including origins, evolution of techniques, and the political, religious, and cultural functions of prints; and 2) individual artistic developments with emphasis on the work of influential printmakers, changing iconography, and formal innovations. Among major artists to be addressed in some depth are Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, Picasso, and Johns. We will make use of the extraordinary wealth of prints in Washington collections, including visits to the Print Study Room of the National Gallery of Art and Georgetown University’s Special Collections.