Drawing and its Double

This landmark exhibition, co-organized with the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica (ING) in Rome, of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Italy, is comprised of fifty-nine rarely-exhibited engraved metal printing plates dating from the sixteenth century to the late twentieth century, culled exclusively from the collections of one of the world's most important museums devoted to the Graphic Arts. The exhibition is co-curated by ING curators Ginevra Mariani and Antonella Renzitti, and Brett Littman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center.

Continuing The Drawing Center's tradition of collaborating with research and archival institutions, this extraordinary partnership with the ING will culminate in a comprehensive presentation of metal printing plates (copper, zinc, lead, steel, and brass) engraved by Italian masters. By presenting the plates on their own, without the resultant prints, this exhibition advocates for a broadly conceived understanding of drawing that addresses several pressing issues in historical and contemporary art, including: the concept of the unique artwork, the translation of an original picture to an engraving, the presentation of unconventional media as drawing, and finally the role of the archive in preserving and disseminating history.

Drawing and its Double will include important and iconic works by influential artists and engravers such as Giorgio Ghisi (1520–1582), Lafrery Du Perac (1512–1577), Salvator Rosa (1615–1673), Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778), Antonio Canova (1757–1822), Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964), Piero Dorazio (1927–2005), and Achille Perilli (b. 1927). These historical and early modern plates will be presented in The Drawing Center's Main Gallery. The Drawing Room, situated within the Main Gallery, will feature Decalogo, a recent body of work by Paolo Canevari (b. 1963, Rome) that was originally commissioned and exhibited by the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica in October, 2008.

ABOUT THE ISTITUTO NAZIONALE PER LA GRAFICA Established in 1975, the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica is the result of a merger between the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe and the Calcografia Nazionale. Housed in a monumental complex at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, ING's vast collection is comprised of 23,400 printing plates, 25,000 drawings, more than 152,000 prints, 16,000 photographs, and 25,000 books. Since its inception, ING has been instrumental in promoting the systematic study of printing plates as unique art works, and is dedicated to promoting the study and conservation of historical printmaking techniques.

ING's extraordinary collection of copperplates originated from the De Rossi family, printers that operated in seventeenth-century Rome. In addition to the De Rossi group, there are entire collections of work by Jusepe de Ribera (1591–1652), Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–1663/65), Salvator Rosa (1615-1673), Giuseppe Vasi (1710–1782), Giovanni Volpato (1740–1803), Carlo Carrà (1881–1966), and Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964). The collection includes many additional copperplates produced by both Italian and non-Italian skilled engravers such as Giovanno Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867), as well as hundreds of new works produced by contemporary artists in and out of Rome.

ABOUT THE DRAWING CENTER The Drawing Center is the only not-for-profit fine arts institution in the country to focus solely on the exhibition of drawings, both historical and contemporary. It was established in 1977 to provide opportunities for emerging and under-recognized artists; to demonstrate the significance and diversity of drawings throughout history; and to stimulate public dialogue on issues of art and culture.

Drawing and its Double: Selections from the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts and Robert Lehman Foundation. Additional support is provided by The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, C.G. Boerner LLC, New York, Vincent J. Buonanno, Arthur Ross Foundation and Harris Schrank.

Drawing and its Double: Selections from the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica
Kuratoren: Ginevra Mariani, Antonella Renzitti, Brett Littman

Künstler: Giorgio Ghisi, Lafrery Du Perac, Salvator Rosa, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Antonio Canova, Giorgio Morandi, Piero Dorazio, Achille Perilli, Paolo Canevari ...