Cleveland Museum of Art
July 5, through November 1, 2026
The Renaissance Engraver at Work, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s (CMA) newest exhibition, offers visitors a glimpse into the beauty, complexity, and technical innovation of engraving, a printmaking process that emerged in mid-1400s Europe. Drawn exclusively from the CMA’s collection, which includes some of the world’s oldest and rarest engravings, the exhibition explores the origins of a medium that transformed the way images were created and duplicated.
“In Renaissance Europe, engraving was a new technology,” said Emily J. Peters, curator of prints and drawings. “Long the domain of goldsmiths, engraved lines appeared as prints on paper—possibly to record metalwork designs—in the mid-1400s. The potential of printed engravings quickly became clear: They provided the opportunity to reproduce artworks in other media with unprecedented refinement and to disseminate artistic compositions far and wide.”
Yet, the first 50 years of engraving in Europe, between 1450 and 1500, remain only partially understood. Scholars and curators are unsure of what tools early engravers used to cut their plates, how they prepared their plates and inks, or even, in some cases, precisely how they printed their engravings.
To gain new insight into the early engravings on display and the engraving process itself and to advance scholarship on these rare works, paper conservator Moyna Stanton and Peters invited Andrew Raftery, master engraver and printmaking professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, to the CMA. Together, the team examined engravings with the paper lab’s stereomicroscope and a variety of light sources and magnification, revealing material and technical details not visible to the naked eye. Close examination provided insight into the challenges artists faced in adopting this new technology, tracing moments of experimentation, refinement, and ambition.
Exhibition highlights include the following:
- The only known first state of Antonio del Pollaiuolo’s Battle of the Nudes
- A unique impression by Master of the Nuremberg Passion
- Works by Master of the E-Series Tarocchi
- Madonna Enthroned with Eight Angels by Master ES
- Venus Reclining in a Landscape by Venetian engraver Giulio Campagnola
Pairing extraordinary works of art and new technical research, The Renaissance Engraver at Work illuminates the pivotal role of engraving, which has a significant effect on our day-to-day lives.
“From US currency and wedding invitations to jewelry, awards, and diplomas, engraving remains part of daily life in ways many people don’t even notice,” Peters said. “This exhibition invites visitors to look closely at the process and appreciate its origins.”
The Large Horse, 1505. Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528). Engraving; sheet: 16.6 x 11.9 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr., 1958.113
The Massacre of the Innocents (Without the Fir Tree), c. 1511–12. Marcantonio Raimondi (Italian, 1470/82–1527/34), after Raphael (Italian, 1483–1520). Engraving; sheet: 28 x 42.6 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Print Club of Cleveland, 1964.23
The Farnesian Hercules, from Three Famous Antique Roman Statues, 1592. Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617). Engraving; image: 40.4 x 29.4 cm; sheet: 42.5 x 30.2 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2022.137
