Navigation menu

The 'black art' is the subject of new University exhibition at the Museum of Canterbury

A new exhibition created by staff at the University of Kent and now showing at the Museum of Canterbury is proving to be a popular showcase for the 'black art', also known as mezzotint or the first tonal method of printmaking.

Invented around 1642 by the German soldier Ludwig von Siegen, mezzotint or the 'black art' involved engravers working from dark to light, and with a scraper rather than a burin, to achieve, with relative ease, tonal effects that had only previously been approximated through the laborious and highly skilled manipulation of lines, hatchings and dots.

Drawing on the resources of the Kent Print Collection at the University of Kent, the Museum of Canterbury, the Strang Print Room and a private collector, this exhibition, titled The Paradox of Mezzotint, will be at the Museum until 11 June, after which it transfers to the Strang Print Room at University College London, 2 July - 31 October.

It includes representative original prints by leading mezzotinters such as Wallerant Vaillant, Isaac Beckett, John Smith, Elisha Kirkall, James McArdell, Valentine Green, Richard Earlom and John Raphael Smith.

Dr Ben Thomas, Head of History and Philosophy of Art at the University of Kent and the exhibition's curator, said: 'Mezzotinting was a new technique that was easily learnt by comparison with line engraving. Unsurprisingly, it was eventually exploited by painters, particularly those of the British School, who were keen to faithfully reproduce their works and increase their fame, thereby elevating the technique from a secretive and amateur art form to one that was highly professional and commercially important.'

The Museum of Canterbury (Tel: 01227 475202) opens Monday to Saturday 10.30am - 5pm. Admission is free to Resident Card holders.

A fully illustrated catalogue written by Dr Thomas is available at the exhibition.

Contact: mediaoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 3:31pm 30 April 2008