In s2e20, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig conclude their discussion of Rembrandt van Rijn, the man who made etching was it is today. In this third of three episodes on Rembrandt, they tackle his etchings of religious scenes. Rembrandt made a lot of them and they are intense. They are…
In s2e19, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig continue talking about the best etcher ever, Rembrandt van Rijn. In this second of three episodes on Rembrandt, they tackle genre scenes (those would be scenes of everyday life) and portraits. Rembrandt is the consummate storyteller and in these etchings he gives us…
In Platemark e2e18, Tru Ludwig and Ann Shafer begin a three-parter about the master of etching, Rembrandt van Rijn. In this first episode on RvR, Tru sets the stage and takes us through some of Rembrandt's key landscape etchings, including the iconic The Three Trees. (The second episode looks at…
In s2ep17, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk about one of their favorite engravers of all time, Hendrick Goltzius. A Dutchman, Goltzius was preternaturally gifted with a burin and made glorious prints of all sorts. Ann's favorite is the Farnese Hercules, a large engraving showing two Dutchmen looking up at…
In s2ep16, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk about the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter Reformation that affected so much of the 16th century in Western Europe. The focus of the episode is Pieter Brueghel the Elder who developed a new vocabulary to talk about the lives of peasants,…
In s2ep15, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig continue talking about game-changer Martin Luther and the effects of his 95 theses against the Catholic Church, which brought about the Protestant Reformation in 1517. In this episode they talk about the biting criticism of politics in the church and the schism with…
In s2ep14, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig look at Martin Luther and the effects of his 95 theses against the Catholic Church. Once the only patron of the arts, the Church faced a reckoning when Martin Luther brought about the Protestant Reformation in 1517. In addition to getting rid of…
In s2e13, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk about reproductive engravings and how they helped spread Italian art and style to Northern European countries. Italian Giorgio Ghisi worked for Antwerp publisher Hieronymous Cock and did much of the heavy lifting. The episode concludes with Federico Barocci and two of the…
Platemark host Ann Shafer is thrilled to announce the first Baltimore Fine Art Print Fair is scheduled for April 29-May 1, 2022. Ann and Tru Ludwig talk about the print fair's origins as a production of the Print, Drawing & Photograph Society of the Baltimore Museum of Art. That former…
In episode 12, Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig discuss the titan of Venetian painting, Titian, who happened to also make prints. Plus Ann and Tru take a deep dive into the epic first book of anatomy, Vesalius' On the Fabric of the Human Body, 1543. It turns out Titian had…
In s2e11, Tru Ludwig and Ann Shafer talk about chiaroscuro woodcuts before moving on to the Mannerist painter and printmaker Parmigianino. Coming off the High Renaissance and the Sack of Rome in 1527, artists were looking for ways to shake it up. Out goes the solid forms and placid emotions…
In this bonus episode, Ann Shafer talks to Tru Ludwig about being an artist and art historian, and how being a professor in both disciplines plays out. It's a fascinating confluence of ideas and passions in one person.
In s2e10, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig continue talking about Italian printmaking in the 16th century focusing on MarcAntonio Raimondi, Agostino Veneziano, Giulio Romano, and our first female artist, Diana Scultori. They take a deep dive into MarcAntonio's Judgment of Paris (after a drawing by Raphael), from which Edouard…
In s3e50, Platemark host Ann Shafer talks with Allison Tolman, a private dealer handling prints by contemporary Japanese artists. The Tolman Collection has branches in Tokyo and New York and works with a range of artists. Allison is a second-generation dealer—her father heads up the Tokyo branch while Allison is…
In s3e49, Platemark host Ann Shafer talks with Valpuri Remling, collaborative printer and manager of the pro workshop at Tamarind Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, which was established in 1960 by the legendary June Wayne in order to preserve and promote the art of lithography. Valpuri, a native of…
In s2e9, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig continue their conversation about early Italian printmaking with a strong focus on the engravings of Andrea Mantegna. They also talk about chiaroscuro woodcuts, always keeping the North within eyesight. Episode image: Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431–1506). Risen Christ between Saints Andrew and…
In s2e8, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk about the early history of prints and books in Italy, comparing it to Northern Europe. Differences in style and materials are discussed using the example of Masaccio's The Holy Trinity with the Virgin and St. John and donors, 1425–27, the fresco…
In s2e7, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig discuss intaglio printmaking techniques, which include engraving, etching, mezzotint, and drypoint. They also talk about aquatint and other methods of getting an image incised into a copper plate. Images related to the episode are at platemarkpodcast.com.
In s2e6, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig discuss relief printmaking techniques, which include woodcuts and linoleum cuts. They also talk about reduction woodcuts, aka suicide woodcuts.
In Platemark s2e4, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig finish talking about Albrecht Dürer. He had a remarkable career, and changed the perception and reception of prints in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century. Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528). The Fall of Man or Adam and Eve, 1504. Engraving.…
In s2e5, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk about paper as a support and the ink that is transferred from a matrix. Without these two materials, prints wouldn't exist.
In this bonus episode, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk about how they got into art in the first place. From early childhood encounters through college, the hosts reveal why they love art and believe wholeheartedly in its transformative power.
In s2e3, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig finally start talking about an artist. While there are artists of note before Dürer--say Martin Schongauer--he really changes everything. From his monogram claiming authorship to marketing his works, Dürer is the man. So much so that Ann and Tru only get through…
In s2e2, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk about Europe in the 15th century and the state of printmaking, the printing press, moveable type, and early woodcuts. This episode sets the stage for the rest of the story of the history of Western printmaking.