Parasol Press: Breaking New Ground is the first exhibition to survey Parasol Press’s remarkable publications from 1970–2014, showcasing radical innovations that pushed the boundaries of printmaking and secured Parasol’s place as one of the most important print publishers of the twentieth century. Founded by Robert Feldman (PA 1954) in 1970, the publisher came to prominence for introducing a generation of Minimalist and Conceptual artists to printmaking, including Mel Bochner, Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Edda Renouf, Dorothea Rockburne, and Robert Ryman. Parasol’s published editions were among the decade’s most ambitious prints, demonstrating the complex and varied ways artists explored the materiality of printed surfaces while challenging the medium’s limits. Over time, the publisher expanded its roster to encompass a diverse range of artists, including Photorealists, Neo-Expressionists, and even a group of award-winning mathematicians and scientists. Collaborating with print workshops such as Crown Point Press and Edition Domberger, Parasol Press took risks on technically daring feats, including Chuck Close’s creation of the largest mezzotint ever produced, Richard Estes’s intricate Photorealist screenprints consisting of hundreds of layers of color, and a multi-artist portfolio made entirely from rubber stamps. Parasol Press: Breaking New Ground reveals how the publisher helped forge transformative connections between dozens of artists and printers, highlighting the significance of risk-taking, collaboration, and experimentation in pushing the boundaries of artistic expression.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated publication, published by the Addison Gallery of American Art and distributed by Yale University Press, that includes a full list of all editions published by Parasol Press.

This article explores the multifaceted nature of printing plates, specifically focusing on six gilded intaglio plates from the Rawlinson collection at the Bodleian Library. The author engages in a comprehensive examination, employing both traditional and innovative research methods, including scientific technology, to investigate the dual identity of printing plates as functional tools and artworks. The gilded Rawlinson plates are placed within the broader tradition of gilding printing plates, which gained popularity in the 16th century. The article delves into historical examples of gilded plates, exploring instances such as Emperor Rudolf II's ownership of gilded plates and the methods employed for gilding.
Material analysis of the Rawlinson plates reveals an unexpected coating of gold, raising questions about the purpose and timing of the gilding process. The article proposes hypotheses regarding the use of the plates. Furthermore, while shedding light on the historical precedents and traditions of gilded printing plates, it acknowledges the complexity of their status. Initially serving as printing technology, the Rawlinson gilded plates were transformed into precious decorative elements before returning to their original function as printing matrices. The article emphasises the intersection of technology and artistry, inviting further collaboration between print historians, decorative arts experts, and metallurgy specialists to deepen our understanding of these intriguing artefacts.

We start by examining the pervasive, intimate connection between collections of prints and books evident from the incunabula period onwards throughout Europe and England. Although examples of nobles and the clerical elite who housed prints in their libraries may be best known, numerous other collectors, ranging from successful merchants to government officials and scholars, similarly regarded prints and books as natural bedfellows. These observations, along with the uncommon wealth of information pertaining to the European print trade present in the archives of the Plantin-Moretus Press of Antwerp, validate this study of booksellers’ significant, multifaceted involvement in this trade. The resulting bounty of novel revelations concerning the thriving market for prints in the period under consideration (ca. 1550-1640), are presented in the subsequent chapters.

Following introductory remarks on agreements for coloring prints, an overview of how both colored and plain prints were priced, and the quantities in which they were sold, we present the managers of the Plantin-Moretus Press and examine their involvement in the print trade. Beginning with the founder of the Press, Christopher Plantin, who dabbled in the sale of prints before he established his business printing and selling books, we document the various means by which he and his successors, the Moretuses, engaged in and supported the European print trade. Simultaneously presenting the ways in which clients requested prints, we relate how the booksellers’ responses to these inquiries changed with time.

Naturally, Plantin and the Moretuses could not deal in prints without the active involvement of print sellers in Antwerp, then an important center for print production in Europe. We discuss who among the myriad figures involved in this trade engaged Plantin or the Moretuses to facilitate their own dealings and who were the primary suppliers of the prints sought by the Press’s own clients. Revealing not simply the criteria imposed by some sellers prior to any sale (cash up front, for example) and the array of prices charged by different individuals, we also document the quantities in which they sold their wares and the means by which they were willing (or not) to satisfy clients in distant locals.

We conclude by shifting the focus to the demand side of the equation and examine which Antwerp print publishers were revered in which markets. Whenever possible, we also consider the wishes of specific individuals or general subgroups within society (nobles, religious orders, or merchants, for example). In addition, we demonstrate how Danzig (Gdańsk), Cologne, and Frankfurt rivaled, if not surpassed, their more famous counterparts, such as Paris, as vibrant points of exchange for the print trade. Finally, the appendices detail exactly what individual print publishers charged for specific prints, many of which are still preserved in collections today, as well as the buyers cited in these records. Simultaneously, tables provide succinct overviews of these exceptional records of the prices charged by print publisher and for prints sold in bulk, either colored or plain.

Between 1620 and 1624, the Antwerp printer Hendrik Aertssens published three texts by Jesuit authors, each of which was illustrated with engravings by Boёtius à Bolswert, namely: Herman Hugo’s Pia desideria, Antoine Sucquet’s Via vitae aeternae, and Jean Bourgeois’s Vitae passionis et mortis Jesu Christi … mysteria. This unprecedented examination of the sales of these publications via the Plantin-Moretus Press of Antwerp provides an exceptional and unexpected perspective on their initial international distribution. In particular: the contrast between the poor reception of Bourgeois’s text and great popularity of the illustrations in London, the persistent requests for Sucquet’s work, and the remarkably large purchases of Hugo’s by London booksellers. Consequently, this article documents how disparate the demand for Aertssens’s illustrated Jesuit editions was and that their impact extended beyond the standard reach of the Jesuit community.

This dissertation examines the illustrated decorations in secular cantata manuscripts from 17th- and early 18th-century Italy, a previously understudied visual culture at the intersection of music, drawing, and elite sociability. These manuscripts often include small pen-and-ink drawings, vignettes, and ornate initials that have long been dismissed as anonymous embellishments.

A central outcome of this research is the attribution of a group of manuscript drawings to the celebrated architect and scenographer Filippo Juvarra, revealing a lesser-known chapter in his early graphic production in Rome. These images demonstrate his technical skill and engagement with musical culture during his formative years. The dissertation also revisits the multifaceted career of Carlo Antonio Buffagnotti, a composer and printmaker in Bologna. Another key case study is the manuscript I-Rc MS 2478, preserved at the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome.

Through close visual analysis, archival research, and iconographic comparison, the study reconstructs artistic contributions that were previously anonymous or misunderstood. It demonstrates how these drawings served as tokens of prestige, friendship, or authorship, functioning as visual performances that reflected the cantata’s refined and often intimate musical world.

By restoring visibility to forgotten artists and neglected images, this research invites a broader understanding of how music, art, and identity interacted in early modern Europe. It offers a new way to read historical sources, one that values visual traces as meaningful forms of cultural memory and contributes to ongoing efforts to connect musicological and art-historical perspectives.

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Naarden Celebrates Handel: A Month of Music, History, and Discovery
This autumn, the city of Naarden will be immersed in the world of one of the most iconic composers of the Baroque era: Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759). From October 10 to November 10, the first-ever Dutch Handel Days will take place, a unique collaboration between the Comenius Museum Naarden, the internationally acclaimed organist, harpsichordist, and conductor Ton Koopman, and the Dutch Handel Society.
The festival offers a rich program of concerts, masterclasses, and a special exhibition at the Comenius Museum titled Handel in Naarden. From the Collection of Ton Koopman. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to view unique prints, manuscripts, and personal objects from Koopman’s private collection—including an authentic harpsichord from his own home. These items tell the story of Handel’s life, his musical genius, and his enduring influence on the Baroque tradition.
Children are invited to explore Handel’s world through a playful musical treasure hunt, designed to spark curiosity and creativity while introducing them to the composer’s extraordinary works.
Ton Koopman (born in Zwolle, 1944) is a leading authority on Baroque music and historical performance practice. With his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, he has produced numerous landmark recordings of Handel and Bach, earning international recognition for his scholarly and artistic contributions.
Throughout the Handel Days, a variety of events will take place in collaboration with the Dutch Handel Society and Ton Koopman. These include concerts and masterclasses featuring Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. For the full program, visit the Dutch Handel Society’s website: Händeldagen – Nederlandse Händelvereniging.
The museum will also host exclusive guided tours led by Ton Koopman and Anna Bianco (curator of the Ton Koopman collection) on October 18 and 29, and November 8. These tours offer a deeper insight into the exhibition and the historical context of the works on display.
Whether you're a seasoned music lover or a curious newcomer, the Dutch Handel Days in Naarden promise an inspiring journey into the life and legacy of one of music history’s greatest figures.

"The Goncourt Brothers and the Language of Etching" explores the significant and often surprising links between printmaking and literature during the nineteenth-century French etching revival. This book offers a fresh perspective on the revival through the work of Edmond and Jules de Goncourt: novelists, diarists, art historians, collectors, and etchers.

Using an interdisciplinary approach that centers the embodied process of both etching and writing, "The Goncourt Brothers and the Language of Etching" identifies new intersections between word and image in the Goncourts' wide-ranging work. From the brothers' etched illustrations for their groundbreaking history of eighteenth-century French art, to their efforts to translate techniques from printmaking into their experimental prose, each chapter offers a close analysis of printed image and printed text. This book not only brings critical attention to the brothers' understudied work as printmakers, but also provides new insight into pressing questions about the purpose and value of creative labor in nineteenth-century France.