Dürer to Matisse: 400 Years of European Prints
September 27, 2024 - January 5, 2025
Dürer to Matisse: 400 Years of European Prints offers an exceptional opportunity to view nearly 100 prints by some of the most recognized artists active from the late fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, beginning and ending with two towering giants of printmaking—Albrecht Dürer and Henri Matisse. The Ackland Art Museum holds North Carolina’s largest and most comprehensive collections of art on paper, but due to light sensitivity, these works can only be displayed for short periods. Works by Rembrandt van Rijn, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francisco de Goya, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Vincent van Gogh, Käthe Kollwitz, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, and many others showcase the craftsmanship, expressive power, and aesthetic beauty achieved through printmaking.
While this exhibition emphasizes high quality and excellent condition, rather than presenting a comprehensive history of the medium, the prints on view do chart the progression of art historical movements from the Renaissance to Cubism and beyond, through woodcuts, engravings, etchings, aquatints, mezzotints, and lithographs. Some newly acquired and never before displayed at the Ackland, and others off view for decades, these prints reveal how the use of black ink, paper, and various printmaking techniques can create a wealth of innovative and technically stunning works of art.
This presentation of Dürer to Matisse builds on a project developed for the Ackland Exchange Initiative, in which thirty-six European prints were lent to Fayetteville State University and Elizabeth City State University during the fall of 2023. Both exhibitions were organized by Dana Cowen, Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950.
This exhibition is supported in part by Caroline and Arthur Rogers.
Click here for a Chapel Hill Public Library Reader’s Guide for Dürer to Matisse.
ART-INSPIRED EVENTS
Throughout Dürer to Matisse, explore the art on view through a variety of interactive programs for all ages featuring the voices of artists, scholars, and other special guests.
Friday, September 27, 2024 | 3:30 p.m.
Introductory Tour by Curator Dana Cowen
A guided look at several of the nearly one hundred exemplary European prints featured in Dürer to Matisse led by exhibition curator Dana Cowen, Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950. Learn about the renowned artists featured, including Albrecht Dürer, Henri Matisse, Rembrandt van Rijn, Francisco de Goya, William Blake, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Käthe Kollwitz, Salvador Dali, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and others. Free; registration required.
Sunday, September 29, 2024 | 1-5 p.m.
Ackland F.A.M. Day
An afternoon of print-making fun featuring a hands-on stamp-carving workshop with artist Raj Bunnag, do-it-yourself “dry” printing technique tables in the Museum, and self-guided scavenger hunts in Dürer to Matisse. Free; no registration required.
Fridays during the exhibition beginning October 4, 2024 | 1-1:30 p.m.
Tours: A Closer Look at Dürer to Matisse
Join Ackland educators for a 30-minute look at a selection of works in Dürer to Matisse: 400 Years of European Prints. Free; no registration required.
Friday, October 11, 2024 | 6-8 p.m.
2nd Friday ArtWalk: Acktoberfest
The Ackland’s third annual evening of art-inspired cheese and drink pairings. This year’s Acktoberfest will feature cheese pairings curated by The Cheese Shop, live screen printing demos by Durham-based Super Graphic Print Lab, mini tours of Dürer to Matisse, and more. Attendees will receive custom exhibition-inspired prints by Super G to take home. More ticket info at events.ackland.org.
Saturday, October 12, 2024 | 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1-2:30 p.m.
Art Adventures
Hands-on artmaking classes for 6-9 year olds. This class will explore one of the printmaking techniques used in Dürer to Matisse, and kids will create an art project to take home. Space is limited; registration required. Free for Ackland Members (Household and above); $5 per child for Non-Members.
Saturday, October 25 & Sunday, October 26
2024 Bettie Allison Rand Lecture Series: Renewing Impressionism, 1874-2024. Speakers include Dr. Denise Murrell.
Over two days, invited scholars will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, which takes its origin from the exhibition of the Société anonyme des artistes peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs, etc. at the studio of the famous photographer Nadar in April of 1874. Speakers include André Dombrowski, Nikki Georgopulos, Laura Anne Kalba, Denise Murrell, Todd Porterfield, and Harmon Siegel. This year’s lecture series is co-sponsored by the Ackland Art Museum and the UNC Center for European Studies. To be held at Graham Memorial Hall.
Sunday, November 3, 2024 | 1-5 p.m.
Music in the Galleries: Music & Print
A pop-up print expo exploring poster archives and artist-printed books from UNC’s Southern Folklife Collection and the Sloane Art Library, with live music by local performers. Free; no registration required.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 | 6 p.m.
Artist Talk by Andrew Raftery
A free public talk by expert engraver Andrew Raftery, a professor of printmaking at Rhode Island School of Design, whose prints highlight scenes of contemporary life while employing historically-informed techniques like copper plate engraving, as seen in Dürer to Matisse. Space is limited; registration required. Free.
Thursday, November 21, 2024 | 11 a.m.
Livestreamed Artist Demonstration: Andrew Raftery
Visiting Artist Andrew Raftery will demonstrate elements of his copper plate engraving technique for students in the Art Department’s “Introduction to Printmaking” course, and Ackland visitors will be able to see the demonstration through a live feed streamed in our ART& gallery. Stop by the Museum to catch the engraving demonstration and be sure to explore Dürer to Matisse while you’re at the Museum. Free; no need to register.
Saturday, December 14, 2024 | 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1-2:30 p.m.
Art Adventures
Hands-on artmaking classes for 6-9 year olds. This class will explore one of the printmaking techniques used in Dürer to Matisse, and kids will create an art project to take home. Space is limited; registration required. Free for Ackland Members (Household and above); $5 per child for Non-Members.
Sunday, January 5, 2025 | 3:30 p.m.
Last Look Tour by Curator Dana Cowen
A final guided look at several of the eighty exemplary European prints featured in Dürer to Matisse led by exhibition curator Dana Cowen, Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950. Free, but space is limited; registration required.
Public Programs for Dürer to Matisse: 400 Years of European Prints are supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Image credit
Cornelis Visscher, Dutch, c. 1629-1658, The Large Cat, 1657, engraving, sheet: 5 1/2 x 7 3/16 in. (14 x 18.3 cm). Burton Emmett Collection, 58.1.837.
Is there anyway Anders Zorn is represented in this? Regardless, this show sounds amazing!
Hi Timothy, There are no works by Anders Zorn in this show. Here’s a list of artists represented: Dürer, van Meckenem, Mantegna, Raimondi, de’Barbari, van Leyden, Robetta, Campagnola, Hirschvogel, de Juste, Fantuzzi, Gaultier, Barocci, Cock, after Bruegel I, Goltzius, Sadeler, Bolswert, Callot, van de Passe, Lorrain, Rembrandt, Pauwels the Elder, Visscher, Rosa, Testa, Frye, Hogarth, Aveline, Canaletto, Piranesi, Le Prince, Green, Sandby, Fragonard, Rowlandson, Goya, Pillement, Kolbe the elder, Roger, Géricault, Blake, Daumier, Bresdin, Corot, Manet, Degas, Pissarro, Cassatt, van Gogh, Cézanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Toorop, Klinger, Modersohn-Becker, Kollwitz, Munch, Schmidt-Rotluff, Beckmann, Dix, Matisse, Rouault, Chagall, Dalí, Braque, Picasso. I hope you can come see the exhibition!