Art with impact at The Whitworth

16 Aug 2016

A major international exhibition which opens at The Whitworth in September is the outcome of intense collaboration by curators, academics and, exceptionally, undergraduate and postgraduate students

'Marcantonio Raimondi and Raphael' (30 September 2016 - 23 April 2017) is not only the first-ever UK exhibition devoted to the work of the foremost printmaker of the Italian Renaissance, but also the first major historic exhibition in The Whitworth since its reopening in 2015.

Marcantonio Raimondi (c 1480–c 1532) is best known for his groundbreaking collaboration with the artist Raphael, which resulted in such famous images as the imposing Judgement of Paris (see photo).

Curated by Dr Ed Wouk, Lecturer in Art History and Visual Studies, and David Morris, Head of Collections at the Whitworth, alongside colleagues at the John Rylands Library, the exhibition is notable for bringing together research, teaching, public engagement with research and impact.

BA and MA students from Art History and Visual Studies played an important role in the exhibition, including contributing entries for the exhibition catalogue, which is being published by Manchester University Press. This level of student involvement is unusual for an exhibition on this scale.

Ed Wouk said: “As a scholar of early modern print culture, I have found this project intellectually and professionally stimulating. It showcases some of the ways the University is singularly positioned to combine teaching, research and impact, and it will, I hope, make a lasting contribution to the field and to the practice of teaching with objects here in Manchester.

“The dozen Art History and Visual Studies students who took my ‘Renaissance Print Cultures’ module in 2016 have become indispensable partners in the endeavour, contributing to planning the display and writing entries for the catalogue. They will all finish their degrees at Manchester with gallery experience and as published authors with a major academic press!”

The exhibition aims to engage multiple audiences and will be accompanied by a programme of tours and events, plus a substantial and lavishly illustrated catalogue, and a special volume of the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library.

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Image: Marcantonio Raimondi after Raphael, The Judgement of Paris, c. 1513–18, Engraving, 292 x 433 mm. The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, P.3081. Presented by George Thomas Clough in 1921 © The University of Manchester