Christ before Pilate, Andrea Mantegna, Italian

Old master prints that were made in Germany during the 16th century from The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art. The term ‘old master print’ describes artworks that were made by a printing technique originating from the beginning of 15th century throughout the year 1830. It is well-known in the art trade but an unsophisticated person could simply confuse it with decorative or popular prints. Master prints were widely spread and popular at the end of the 15th century when paper became available and cheap. The term covered several techniques: woodcut, engraving, and etching. Many European artists like Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, and Francisco Goya that now are famous for their paintings, initially acquired their international reputation as print masters. As for subjects of the master prints, there were religious topics alongside with social ones: сhivalry scenes, tournaments, battles and so-called ‘Gardens of Love’. Usually, artists didn’t sign their works, and it was Albrecht Dürer who was the first to leave his name on a master print. The collection includes old master prints that were made in Germany during the 16th century. All these images were gathered by the New York Public Library.

Printmaking in woodcut and engraving came to Northern Italy within a few decades of their invention north of the Alps. Engraving probably came first to Florence in the 1440s, the goldsmith Maso Finiguerra (1426–64) used the technique. Italian engraving caught the very early Renaissance, 1460–1490. Print copying was a widely accepted practice, as well as copying of paintings viewed as images in their own right.

Early Renaissance or Quattrocento (Italian mille quattrocento, or 1400) refers to the 15th century in Florentine art. Extraordinary wealth was accumulated in Florence among a growing middle and upper class of merchants and bankers. Florence saw itself as a city-state where the freedom of the individual was guaranteed, and where a significant share of residents had the right to participate in the government. In 1400 Florence was engaged in a struggle with the Duke of Milan. Then, between 1408 and 1414 again, by the King of Naples. Both died before they could conquer Florence. In 1425 Florence won the war against Milan. The Florentine interpreted these victories as signs of God's favor and imagined themselves as the "New Rome". In this new optimistic and wealthy environment, Florentine artists immersed themselves in studies of the humanities, architecture, philosophy, theology, mathematics, science, and design. They spurred a rejuvenation of the glories of classical art in line with the humanistic and individualistic tendencies of the contemporary era. Quattrocento was followed by the High Renaissance, North European Renaissance, Mannerism, and Baroque periods. Unlike the previous proto-renaissances, the innovations that emerged in Florence would go on to cause reverberations in Italy and Northern Europe, which continue to influence culture until today.