Exhibition Ended

The Printmaker's Art | Rembrandt to Rego

From Sat 2 Dec 2023 - Sun 25 Feb 2024

This exhibition has now ended!

About

"Rarely does one emerge from an exhibition of work by diverse artists so entirely impressed. The Printmaker’s Art: Rembrandt to Rego is genuinely unmissable." 
– The National

Everyone has the power to make a print. It’s one of the most accessible art forms. Now come and experience the print pioneers who have made their mark in the last five hundred years. Journey from Albrecht Dürer in the fifteenth century right through to contemporary artists like Tracey Emin and Chris Ofili. On the way discover how artists have pushed the boundaries in both subject and technique through screen printing, etching, engraving and more.

Big names on show include Hokusai, Andy Warhol, Goya, Rembrandt, William Blake, Elizabeth Blackadder, Paula Rego, Bridget Riley and Pablo Picasso. See the techniques, tools and materials up close – you may even be inspired to give it a go. 

Event highlights

Find out more

In this film artist Ade Adesina RSA demonstrates linocut, a type of relief printmaking, first developed in the early 20th century.

Discover more techniques

Sponsors

Partners

Supported by

The Printmaker's Art (paperback)

A fantastic guidebook to understanding print-making which features some of the best-loved works across the National Galleries of Scotland print collection, artworks from Albrecht Dürer to Andy Warhol. A useful tool in understanding the printmaking techniques used by the artists that offers a refreshing look at the collection illustrating works which are seldom on display.

Shop

Shop

Be inspired by the art of printmaking with artists from the Renaissance to the present day

Glossary terms

Glossary terms

Linocut

A relief print produced in a similar way to a woodcut, but using a layer of linoleum, sometimes mounted on wood. As a cheap and easy way of producing prints, linocuts are often used by amateur artists but the method was also employed by Matisse in the late 1930s and by Picasso

Lithography

A printmaking technique using a stone or zinc plate to which the image is applied with a greasy material. After wetting the plate, greasy ink is applied. The ink sticks only to the drawn image and not the wet surface, thus creating a reproduction when applied to paper.

Etching

A form of printmaking in which a metal plate is covered with a substance called a 'ground', usually wax, into which an image is drawn with a needle. Acid is applied, eroding the areas of the plate exposed but not the areas covered by wax. The action of the acid creates lines in the metal plate that hold the ink from which a print is made when the plate is pressed against paper under pressure.

Screenprinting

The print is made by forcing ink through a screen on which a stencil is placed. Traditionally used for commercial printing, it has been taken up by artists since the 1960s when it was used extensively in Pop art.

Friends go free

Friends go free

Become a Friend to enjoy unique access to the nation’s art collection with unlimited free entry to exhibitions, Friends-only exhibition previews and a 10% discount in our gallery shops & cafés.

What's on

Browse what's on at the galleries below, or filter results to narrow your search.

What
Where
When
For
or those for:
Custom date
Access options