Printmaking in Prague: Art from the Court of Rudolf II

Excellent if nerdy exhibition at the British Museum looking art at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II.

I’ll put my hands up to being a nerd! I’ve done a few courses and lectures recently on art in Northern Europe and have come across Rudolf a lot so this show filled a lot of gaps for me. It looked at how he used print making to promote his patronage. Admit this is quite niche but there were some fabulous prints particularly those by the first imperial engraver Aegidius II Sadeler.

As ever in the print galleries there were excellent, well written labels taking you though the different styles and themes. I loved the section on his love of Durer and how he shipped “The Feast of the Rosary” from Venice and commissioned copies of his prints. I wasn’t so convinced by the great allegorical prints praising Rudolf which were very Mannerist.

My favourite print was the attached which shows the Great Hall of the castle in Prague with stalls of prints, paintings etc. How I’d like to go there!

Closes 28 August 2022

 

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