Prints of Ornament from the Northern Renaissance
Prints of ornament form a critical, if under–appreciated, genre that found its highest expression in Northern Europe during the 16th century. Combining works already in the Blanton's collection with works from the newly acquired Leo Steinberg Collection, this exhibition showcases some of the best examples of ornament from this period. From the geometric pattern of Dürer's woodcut “knot” and the exquisite engravings of followers like Beham and Aldegrever, to the extravagant fantasies of the School at Fontainebleau and the Italianate inventions of the late-century Flemish, this selection encompasses the principal types and stages of ornament as it developed in the North.

Florentine Drawing in the Time of Empoli
Last spring the museum acquired an altarpiece by Jacopo Chimenti, called Empoli, a major figure in the transition of the Florentine school from Mannerism toward the Baroque. This exhibition presents 15 drawings by Empoli and his Florentine contemporaries: from followers of Vasari like Stradano, to complex intermediaries like Cigoli, to vibrant 17th-century decorators like Volteranno. These drawings reveal more of the personality, evoke more of the stylistic context, and describe something of the preparatory steps of the new altarpiece. At the same time, they convey the exceptional depth and interrelation of the Blanton's Old Master collection.

The Great Age of British Mezzotint
Developed in late 17th-century Holland, mezzotint is a laborious printmaking technique achieved through roughing, then selectively cleaning and burnishing the surface of a copper plate to create a matrix of extremely subtle and continuous variation. Mezzotints achieve extremely fine tonal gradation and incomparable fidelity to the appearance of texture. The technique attained its highest level in 18th-century Britain, above all as a means of reproducing portrait paintings. This exhibition unites the collection's finest examples of this great age, featuring splendid interpretations of the works of Reynolds, Romney, and Gainsborough, along with a celebrated narrative work by Earlom, an unusual original rendering by Frye, and rare proofs by Constable's collaborator, David Lucas.

Ferdinand Gaillard: Re-Discovered Master of Reproductive Printmaking
Béraldi, the leading connoisseur and cataloguer of 19th-century French prints, described Gaillard as "astonishingly… singular…one of the great engravers of his time." In Paris from the 1860s through the 1880s, his works commanded formidable prices, and even the important modernist critic Roger–Marx collected them avidly. Yet Ferdinand Gaillard never entered the history of art, and today his name is unfamiliar even to most print scholars. Featuring some of Gaillard's finest works, as well as rare proof impressions, this exhibition affirms his place as the last master of reproductive and portrait engraving, upholding French tradition in the face of the avant–garde and cultivating extraordinary technique in competition with photography.

Atelier 17 and Its American Influence
Atelier 17 was established in Paris in 1927 by Stanley William Hayter as a workshop where artists could share ideas, collaborate, and most importantly experiment with new techniques. Trained as a chemist, Hayter brought a scientific approach to printmaking, inventing the process of color viscosity printing and exploring it with great success in his own abstract works. At the onset of World War II Hayter relocated to New York, where he re-established Atelier 17, introducing American artists to color intaglio printmaking and providing a model for the modern printmaking studio. This exhibition features highlights from Hayter's later activity as well as prints by many of his American disciples, including Gabor Peterdi, Mauricio Lasansky, Krishna Reddy, and the Texan Dickson Reeder.

Saint Francis in the Counter-Reformation
In the late 16th-century the Church called for art that reflected the ideals of Catholicism and a purity of religious sentiment. Saint Francis was an ideal subject for this type of art and the eleven prints and drawings here, all by or after Italian artists, demonstrate the variety of ways in which his image was propagated during the Counter-Reformation. Organized by Erika Nelson, graduate intern in the Department of Prints and Drawings.

Labor and Leisure in Seventeenth-Century Dutch Prints
Drinking, gambling and merry-making are just a few of the most popular subjects explored in genre prints of 17th-century Holland. In portraying the labors, festivities, and pastimes of the lower classes, artists captured expressions of unbridled laughter, pure enjoyment, and feelings of contentment on the figures' faces and evoked both humor and moral consideration. Featured are fourteen prints by artists including Adriaen van Ostade, Rembrandt van Rijn, Wallerant Vaillant, and Cornelius Visscher. Organized by Laura Soete, graduate intern in the Department of Prints and Drawings.

Eighteenth-Century French Drawings
The Suida–Manning Collection is known for its representation of Renaissance and Baroque paintings and drawings, though it also includes a significant group of high quality drawings from eighteenth-century France. This exhibition is the first showing of some of these drawings, which are joined by several fine examples from the Blanton's previous holdings. Included are works by Watteau, Lancret, Natoire, Fragonard, and others. Organized by Jonathan Bober, Curator of Prints, Drawings, and European Paintings.

John Martin's Paradise Lost
Between 1825–1827 John Martin issued a set of twenty-four mezzotint plates illustrating Milton's classic epic tale, Paradise Lost, embodying in ink the sensation and drama that Milton captured in words. In this exhibition, the Blanton displays its very fine proof set for the first time. Martin's ability to manipulate this medium enabled him to use light and shade to balance the spectacular brilliance of heavenly light with the infinite darkness of hell. Organized by Laura Soete and Erika Nelson, graduate interns in the Department of Prints and Drawings.

German Expressionist Prints
Emotional interpretations of man's place in nature, his relationship with others, and the assimilation of current events, are the central themes of Expressionism. For artists working in Germany in the early 20th century, printmaking was a powerful medium for expressing these complex themes, revealing the mysteries of the soul in simplified forms and bold contrasts. This exhibition includes important works by Oskar Kokoschka, Käthe Kollwitz, Erich Heckel, and Max Pechstein, among others. Organized by Rebekah Morin, Curatorial Associate in the Department of Prints and Drawings.