Series Two Episodes

In s2e38, Ann and Tru continue their History-of-Prints conversation about Venice in the 18th century. This is part three of three in which we talk about father and son, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo. Shift your gaze from the canals to the clouds as we explore the whimsical, light-filled world of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. A master of the Rococo, Tiepolo brought a sense of effortless spontaneity to his etchings, moving his needle with the fluidity of a pen. We break down...

In s2e37, Ann and Tru continue their History-of-Prints conversation about Venice in the 18th century. This is part two of three in which we talk about Canaletto. While often remembered as a topographical painter of postcards, Canaletto was, in fact, a master of curated reality. In this segment, they examine how Canaletto transformed the ordinary streets and canals of Venice into grand, cinematic scenes. Whether using the camera obscura to manipulate perspective or painting en plein air, he captu...

Step into the sun-drenched world of 18th-century Venice as we explore the "theatrical splendor" that defined an era. In this episode, Ann and resident expert Tru Ludwig dive into the vibrant Venetian art scene, where the city itself served as both a stage and a muse. We set the scene by discussing the transition from the heavy Baroque style to the airy, spontaneous Rococo and the rise of the "Grand Tour." Discover why 18th-century Venice wasn't just a destination, but a living, breathing entity ...

In this History of Prints episode, Tru and Ann look at the considerable output of British satirist James Gillray (1756–1815). Younger than William Hogarth by nearly sixty years, Gillray took Hogarth’s social commentary, its energy, and caustic approach, and used his skills to skewer politicians and kings, laugh at Napoleon and his empire building, point out the absurdity of the fear of vaccines, and make clear the debauchery of public executions. In fact, he’s now called the father of the politi...

In Platemark's history of prints series, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig present a second installment of their ONE PRINT series, this time on Peter Milton's The Train from Munich, 1991. In this episode, Ann and Tru take a single work considered to be a high point in the history of prints, and pull it apart to explore its subject matter, technique, style, and composition. It's a deep, deep dive into a single work--what a luxury. All images of Peter’s art are © 2025 Peter Milton / Artists Rights Societ...

In this History of Western Prints (HoP) episode, Tru and I begin to explore the life and work of William Hogarth, the first British artist featured on Platemark’s HoP series. Hogarth, renowned as the father of Western sequential art, is discussed through detailed analyses of three of his best known series: A Harlot's Progress, A Rake's Progress, and Marriage A-la-Mode. The episode delves into 18th-century London's morality, capturing the societal and artistic context of Hogarth's work. Highlight...

In this History of Prints episode of Platemark, host Ann Shafer and subject matter expert Tru Ludwig explore the extraordinary life and legacy of Maria Sibylla Merian. Celebrated for her pioneering work on insect metamorphosis and her detailed illustrations of flora and fauna, Merian's journey took her to Suriname where she documented local species with the help of native people and slaves. Despite the societal constraints of the 17th century, she made significant contributions to both science a...

Enlightenment publications on human anatomy changed the way artists understood their place in the world. Check out these examples of life-changing images brought to you by prints in books! In s2e31 of Platemark’s History of Prints series, Tru and Ann continue their discussion of the Enlightenment. This time they look at several publications that put forward new discoveries about human anatomy: William Hunter’s The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus, Bernhard Siegfried Albinus’ Tabulae sceleti e...

In Platemark’s History of Prints series, we are leaving the Baroque behind and are turning to the Enlightenment. The late seventeenth and eighteenth century is a fascinating time when social ideas focused on the value of knowledge in all sectors. Rationalism and empiricism led to the scientific revolution, the separation of church and state, literary salons, and for the purposes of this episode, art academies. The era saw the establishment of taxonomies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and studies ...

Platemark hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig offer up a bonus HoP episode featuring a conversation about a single work of art. Occasionally we will drop a BONUS EP ONE PRINT, which will take a single work and pull it apart with an eye toward exploring subject matter, technique, style, and composition. The first of these episodes features the etching Battlefield, 1907, by Käthe Kollwitz. We hope this new kind of conversation resonates, and we’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions for other g...

In s2e29, Platemark hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk about Claude Lorrain, the arbiter of landscape painting in the 17th century. He worked most of his life in Rome and elevated landscape as a subject up the academic hierarchy by including small figural groups and naming the compositions with mythological or biblical subjects. He’s known by various names that can be confusing. He was born Claude Gelée in the independent duchy of Lorraine, which is why the French call him le Lorrain. The Engl...

In s2e28, hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig conclude their two-part conversation about Claude Mellan. An encounter with Mellan’s best-known work, The Holy Face of Christ on St. Veronica's Sudarium, is to be a witness to greatness. The engraving is an extraordinary feat by Claude Mellan and is a high-water mark in the history of prints. The artist had a magical ability to create an image of unparalleled pathos and intricacy using a single spiraling line. In this episode, Tru and Ann talk about thi...

In s2e27, hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig begin a two-part conversation about Claude Mellan, who engraved the most astonishing portrait of Jesus Christ in the history of art. In fact, if it weren’t for his print of the Holy Face on the Sudarium, Mellan may have dropped out of sight. But, he is worth looking at. He brought something to portraiture that is worth noting: a humanity and tenderness that one might think impossible to capture in engraving. Sir Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599–1641). Se...

In s2e26, hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig conclude their conversation about Jacques Callot, where there is always more than meets the eye. He's of interest for many reasons, including his practice of making faster-to-create etchings look like more-time-consuming engravings using his éschoppe. He is the first printmaker in Western art to record the atrocities of war. He heads up any list of artists in the history of prints using them to spread news far and wide about societal ills through visual ...

In s2e25, hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig take an in-depth look at Jacques Callot, who is the first printmaker in Western art to record the atrocities of war. He heads up any list of artists using prints to spread news far and wide about societal ills through visual means. He created some 1,400 prints in his career (no paintings !) and made some of the most remarkable and smallest prints ever. This is a first half of a longer conversation. Stay tuned for part two. Episode image: [DETAIL] Jacque...

Platemark s2e24 concludes hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig’s conversation on reproductive prints. The stars of this episode are Hendrick Goltzius and Peter Paul Rubens. It’s about the business of prints, artists getting their designs out there, and how these very transportable pieces of paper travelled throughout Europe and became catalogues of images for artists. Paper museums, if you will. Once again, for clarity, a reproductive print is one in which an artist creates a design (a drawing, pain...

Platemark s2e23 continues hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig’s conversation on reproductive prints. Once again, for clarity, a reproductive print is one in which an artist creates a design (a drawing, painting, sculpture) and another artist creates a print after that original design. These can be sanctioned by the first artist or not or they can occur long after the first artist‘s death. It is customary to acknowledge all the artists in the strip of lettering at the bottom of the print (called the ...

More on reproductive prints, the backbone of the history of prints

Platemark series two, A History of Western Prints, returns with an episode about reproductive prints. In s2e21, Tru Ludwig takes listeners back to a time when lives were lived with no images save for maybe what one saw in church. Prints were the way the first images were widely consumed; they were that era’s internet. A reproductive print is one in which an artist's creation (a drawing, painting, or sculpture) is recreated by another artist as a print after that original design. These can be san...

Humanizing biblical figures

Facial expressions in five lines or less

Rembrandt is arguably the finest etcher ever

Muscles on muscles on muscles

Proverbs, virtues, and vices