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Exhibition

BLACK ON WHITE
BLACK ON WHITE
Hans Baldung Grien
Kämpfende Hengste FIGHTING STALLIONS AMONG A GROUP OF WILD HORSES IN THE WOOD, 1534
WOODCARVING ON CHEST
ahlers collection
28. September 2013 - 05. January 2014

BLACK ON WHITE

PRINTING THROUGH TIME, FROM REMBRANDT TO DIETER ROTH

The exhibition showcases a representative selection of printed works by well-knownartists spanning five centuries. All pieces are from the ahlers collection, which has been expertly and lovingly put together over many years. The fact that the focus of the exhibition is limited to black-and-white prints helps the viewer to concentrate on experiencing a rich artistic world, coming ever closer to the essence of graphic art’s exceptional qualities.

It is hard to think of another genre of fine art that stretches a comparable spectrum of aesthetic effects. The medium’s nigh-on inexhaustible variety of techniques provides the perfect means, for prominent artists in particular, to embrace the spirit of experimentation. This in turn enabled the traditional possibilities of engraving, etching, woodcarving and lithography to be extended in scope into the realm of the unknown.

The first chapter opens with Albrecht Dürer, whose exceptional prints are represented in the collection. His famous copperplate engraving Nemesis (1501–02) is one of his largest pieces and is considering an outstanding work in the genre. The collection includes the renowned woodcarving Fighting Stallions (1534) by Hans Baldung Grien. Baldung’s depiction of unbridled, animalistic freedom has a deeper meaning: in the sixteenth century, the unsaddled horse symbolised libido. Another shining example from the Old Masters collection is the copperplate engravingFahnenschwinger, created by Hendrick Goltzius in 1587. The excessive proportions and sensuous details cement the piece as an exemplar of the art of European mannerism. Rembrandt’s etched self-portraits have always been coveted by collectors. Just as he did with his models, the artist intensely studied each slight change in his own disposition, as well as the effects of light and shadow, making him the absolute master of etching, unmatched across time.

The path forged by the Old Masters leads on into the twentieth century. The prominent artists of that century constantly made explicit reference to the Old Masters, and nowhere more strongly than in prints. Consider, for example, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s reference to Lucas Cranach in Akt mit schwarzem Hut (Female Nude with Black Hat) of 1912. Expressionist printing is represented in the exhibition by other leading works, including pieces by Erich Heckel, Emil Nolde, Lyonel Feininger, Franz Marc and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Two influential solitary figures among the graphic artists of the twentieth century stand out: Max Beckmann and Edvard Munch. Together with many others, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Marc Chagall and Dieter Roth round off a panorama that sheds light on the genuine inventive spirit of a medium over the course of half a millennium.

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