Antony Griffiths Knihy

Goethe's lifetime (1749-1832) was a period of extraordinary importance in the history of German printmaking. From a style which had been strongly derivative of French and Dutch prototypes, German printmakers evolved a distinctive approach of their own. Etching remained the principal vehicle of the period but the invention of lithography introduced another medium which was explored with great subtlety by German artists. Over 200 works by nearly 70 artists are described in this illustrated catalogue, showing the great richness and diversity of production and examining the way in which patronage and the print market operated at the time.

Introductory text that touches on the basics of various printmaking techniques and briefly describes the history of each.

The Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum holds one of the world's greatest collections of prints, consisting of more than two million items. This book studies the history of the British Museum's collection of prints and drawings from the founding of the Museum in 1753. Ten essays describe the principal gifts, bequests and purchases that now form the core of the Museum's holding and nine appendices with unpublished documents taken from the Museum's archives are included. The book is illustrated with 100 examples of the finest prints from the collections described in the essays.