Madison, Wisconsin—Early printmaking methods could reproduce sharp lines, like those made with metal quills, and artists relied on techniques like hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling to convey light and shadow. Printmakers, however, wanted to achieve the broad, continuous tonal range of a medium like charcoal so they experimented to make prints that were as nuanced and expressive as drawings. By the mid-1600s Wallerant Vaillant had perfected a tonal intaglio process, and the prints made by this method were called manier noir, or dark manner, for the technique’s strength in rendering shadows. Today they are commonly known as mezzotints, from the Italian mezzo-tinto, meaning half-painted. Although they are labor intensive and difficult to print, mezzotints still appeals to artists and connoisseurs for their distinctive mix of tone and texture. This exhibition, drawn from the Chazen collection, surveys four centuries of mezzotints and traces technical developments from the seventeenth century through the present day. Mezzotints, Prints of Darkness will be on view from August 22–October 25, 2009. Admission is free.

There will be a gallery talk with Andrew Stevens, Chazen curator of prints, drawings, and photographs, at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 1, 2009, in the Mayer Gallery.

Generous local support for this exhibition has been provided by the Chazen Museum of Art Council, Hilldale Fund, Brittingham Fund, and Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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The Chazen Museum of Art is open Tuesdays–Fridays 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission to galleries and educational events is free. The museum is located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is accessible to wheelchairs from the north entrance (nearest to Library Mall). An elevator is down the corridor to the right.

Parking is available at the City of Madison State Street Campus Ramp (entrances on Frances and Lake streets) and in the University Square parking ramp, entrance on Lake Street. Metered parking is available in the lower level of UW Lot 46, entrances on Lake and Frances streets. Evening and weekend parking is also available in UW Lot 83 under Fluno Center, entrance on Frances Street, and in UW Lot 7 under Grainger Hall, entrance on Brooks Street between University Avenue and Johnson Street.

The Chazen will provide sign language interpreters for associated programs by three-week advance request to Anne Lambert, Curator of Education, weekdays, (608) 263-4421 (voice).