Antonio del Pollaiuolo (Italian, 1431/32–1498), Battle of the Nudes, 1470s–80s. Engraving. Platemark: 42 x 60.4 cm; Sheet: 42.4 x 60.9 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1967.127.

CLEVELAND—The Renaissance Engraver at Work, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s (CMA) newest exhibition, offers visitors a glimpse into the beauty, complexity, and technical innovation of engraving, a printmaking process that emerged in mid-1400s Europe. Drawn exclusively from the CMA’s collection, which includes some of the world’s oldest and rarest engravings, the exhibition explores the origins of a medium that transformed the way images were created and duplicated. The Renaissance Engraver at Work, on view from Sunday, July 5, through Sunday, November 1, 2026, in the James and Hanna Bartlett Prints and Drawings Galleries 101A–B, is free and open to the public. 

“In Renaissance Europe, engraving was a new technology,” said Emily J. Peters, curator of prints and drawings. “Long the domain of goldsmiths, engraved lines appeared as prints on paper—possibly to record metalwork designs—in the mid-1400s. The potential of printed engravings quickly became clear: They provided the opportunity to reproduce artworks in other media with unprecedented refinement and to disseminate artistic compositions far and wide.” 

Yet, the first 50 years of engraving in Europe, between 1450 and 1500, remain only partially understood. Scholars and curators are unsure of what tools early engravers used to cut their plates, how they prepared their plates and inks, or even, in some cases, precisely how they printed their engravings.  

To gain new insight into the early engravings on display and the engraving process itself and to advance scholarship on these rare works, paper conservator Moyna Stanton and Peters invited Andrew Raftery, master engraver and printmaking professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, to the CMA. Together, the team examined engravings with the paper lab’s stereomicroscope and a variety of light sources and magnification, revealing material and technical details not visible to the naked eye. Close examination provided insight into the challenges artists faced in adopting this new technology, tracing moments of experimentation, refinement, and ambition. 

Exhibition highlights include the following: 

• The only known first state of Antonio del Pollaiuolo’s Battle of the Nudes  
• A unique impression by Master of the Nuremberg Passion 
• Works by Master of the E-Series Tarocchi 
• Madonna Enthroned with Eight Angels by Master ES 
• Venus Reclining in a Landscape by Venetian engraver Giulio Campagnola 

Pairing extraordinary works of art and new technical research, The Renaissance Engraver at Work illuminates the pivotal role of engraving, which has a significant effect on our day-to-day lives.  

“From US currency and wedding invitations to jewelry, awards, and diplomas, engraving remains part of daily life in ways many people don’t even notice,” Peters said. “This exhibition invites visitors to look closely at the process and appreciate its origins.” 

All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Principal annual support is provided by Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder, the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, the John and Jeanette Walton Exhibition Fund, and Margaret and Loyal Wilson. Major annual support is provided by the late Dick Blum and Harriet Warm and the Frankino-Dodero Family Fund for Exhibitions Endowment. Generous annual support is provided by two anonymous donors, Gini and Randy Barbato, Cynthia and Dale Brogan, Dr. Ben and Julia Brouhard, Brenda and Marshall Brown, Gail and Bill Calfee, the Leigh H. Carter family, Dr. William A. Chilcote Jr. and Dr. Barbara S. Kaplan, Mary and Jim Conway, Joseph and Susan Corsaro, Ron and Cheryl Davis, Richard and Dian Disantis, the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, Florence Kahane Goodman, Martha H. and Steven M. Hale, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Linda Harper, Robin Heiser, the late Marta and the late Donald M. Jack Jr., the estate of Walter and Jean Kalberer, Robert M. Kaye, Jane and Doug Kern, the late Mrs. Nancy M. Lavelle, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce Litzler, the Roy Minoff Family Fund, Lu Anne and the late Carl Morrison, Mrs. Peta and the late Dr. Roland Moskowitz, Jeffrey Mostade and Eric Nilson and Varun Shetty, Sarah Nash, Courtney and Michael Novak, Mark and Paula Nylander, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, Dr. Nicholas and Anne Ogan, William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill, Henry Ott-Hansen, the Pickering Foundation, Frank and Fran Porter, Christine Fae Powell, Peter and Julie Raskind, Michael and Cindy Resch, Marguerite and James Rigby, in memory of Dee Schafer, Betty T. and David M. Schneider, Elizabeth and Tim Sheeler, Saundra K. Stemen, Paula and Eugene Stevens, the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Claudia Woods and David Osage. 

The Cleveland Museum of Art is funded in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. 

This exhibition was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491), Christ Carrying the Cross, 1475–90. Engraving; sheet: 29 x 43.6 cm (11 7/16 x 17 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund, 1941.389.

Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528), The Large Horse, 1505. Engraving; sheet: 16.6 x 11.9 cm (6 9/16 x 4 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr., 1958.113.

Marcantonio Raimondi (Italian, 1470/82–1527/34), after Raphael (Italian, 1483–1520). The Massacre of the Innocents (Without the Fir Tree), about 1511–12. Engraving; sheet: 28 x 42.6 cm (11 x 16 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland, 1964.23.

Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617), Three Famous Antique Roman Statues: The Farnesian Hercules, 1592. Engraving; platemark: 40.4 x 29.4 cm (15 7/8 x 11 9/16 in.); sheet: 42.5 x 30.2 cm (16 3/4 x 11 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2022.137.