Jan Kupecký a " erné um ní" = Johann Kupezky and "the black art"

Prague, Czech Republic: Narodni Galerie v Praze, 2016. Softcover. VG+. Black wraps with bw illustration, white and blue text, French flaps inside covers. 55 pp. Many bw illustrations, some color. This catalogue accompanies an intimate exhibition of prints and drawings reproducing the works of Jan Kupecký (1666-1740), a renowned master of Baroque portraiture. The period fame of Kupecký's art is reflected in tens of graphic translations of his paintings, made mainly at the end of this artist's life and shortly after his death. Most of these prints were executed in the technique of mezzotint, formerly called 'black art'. This publication illuminates the history of this impressive technique, which in the course of the 18th century achieved maximum popularity and best qualities. Presented here are outstanding works of the foremost German masters of the mezzotint: Bernhard Vogel, Valentin Daniel Preisler and Johann Jacob Haid.