It will be a small, small world beginning Oct. 7 at the Toledo Museum of Art when the museum opens “Storytelling in Miniature” – an exhibit showcasing approximately 140 miniature prints from the Renaissance through the modern era.

“Some prints in the show are smaller than postage stamps and require a magnifying glass—which will be provided—to be fully appreciated,” said Tom Loeffler, assistant curator of works on paper.

Several 16th-century printmakers specialized in producing very small engravings, which often included densely detailed images of mythological and Old Testament stories.

Featured in this exhibition are a number of prints by a group of artists called the Kleinmeister, or  – Little Masters, who worked in Nuremberg in the mid-16th-century. The core of the group consisted of three artists, Georg Pencz, Hans Sebald Beham and Barthel Beham.

Due in part to the secular and sometimes erotic nature of some of their work, the three artists were brought before a board of inquiry in Nuremberg in January of 1525. During the inquiry they openly expressed agnostic or humanistic views and disrespect for the city magistracy. As a result, they were banned from the city as being the three godless painters.

“While we do not have the most salacious prints produced by these ‘godless’ artists, there is a fair amount of nudity, especially in the mythological imagery,” said Loeffler.

Also featured in the show are significant prints by artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Charles Meryon and John Taylor Arms.

The exhibition, inspired by the Museum’s forthcoming “Small Worlds” exhibition that explores size and proportion in contemporary art, will be on view Oct. 7 through March 4, 2012 in the Works on Paper Galleries. Admission to both the exhibition and the Museum is free.

“Storytelling in Miniature” is made possible by members of the Toledo Museum of Art and supported in part through the sustainable grant program of the Ohio Arts Council.

A free digital exhibition catalog will be available online.

The Museum, located at 2445 Monroe St., Toledo, is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays. For general information, call 800-644-6862, or visit www.toledomuseum.

Approximately 140 miniature prints from the Renaissance through modern era from the Toledo Museum of Art's collection will be featured in the new exhibition “Storytelling in Miniature,” including “Old Man Seen From Behind,” Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669).(Photo courtesy of the Toledo Museum of Art.)

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed