Experimental Impressions: The Seventeenth-Century Origins of Monotype

Monotypes emerged as an important experimental medium in the nineteenth century with the innovative prints of Degas, Gauguin, Pissarro, and others. Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione is often credited with inventing the monotype technique in the seventeenth century, but it is unlikely that Degas and his contemporaries were looking at Castiglione's prints. Rather, it was Rembrandt van Rijn's experimental etchings that provided the most important catalyst for nineteenth-century monotypists. In this talk, art historian Alexandra Onuf will explore the visual, technical and conceptual through lines from Rembrandt and other seventeenth-century printmakers to Degas and his circle in order to understand the experimental foundations for the monotype "revival" in the nineteenth century.

Alexandra Onuf is Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Hartford specializing in early modern landscape prints. She has published widely in this field, including her 2018 monograph The Small Landscape Prints in Early Modern Netherlands and a recent article on Rembrandt entitled “Secrets of the Dark: Rembrandt’s Entombment (c. 1654).”

This program is hosted by the Monotype Guild of New England. The Monotype Guild of New England is a nonprofit organization of contemporary artists creating unique impressions by working in the medium of monotypes and monoprints. Founded in 1985 by a small group of New England artists, the Guild has curated over one hundred exhibitions and has expanded its membership to include artists from across the United States. Visit https://mgne.org/connects/ to discover more.

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Video Recorded Thursday, January 21, 2021. © Monotype Guild of New England. Video: R. Leopoldina Torres. For questions related to permission for commercial use of this video, please contact [email protected].