Fifteenth and Sixteenth-Century Northern European Prints at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Abstract

This thesis examines the collection of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century German, Dutch and Flemish prints at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Beginning with the donation of Bishop Monrad in 1869, prints from the Northern European schools have been added to the collection either through the generosity of private collectors or the museum's direct purchases which continue to the present day. The lives and collecting practices of these collectors are considered, as well as the artists and prints represented in the collection. An analysis of the history of collecting prints from the Northern European schools demonstrates that their recognition as individual works of art was a rather slow process, whereas a canon of the great printmakers was established almost immediately. The place of Northern printmakers in this canon will be considered, as well as the changing ideas about prints and print collecting from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. The most significant collectors for Te Papa's print collection were Bishop Monrad and Sir John Ilott, who together donated more than half of the 164 prints analysed here. While the collecting practices of Monrad and Ilott have been studied individually before, it is worthwhile comparing them and considering their reasons for buying fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Northern European prints in particular. They emerge as collectors with similar financial means, who both made use of agents and had direct contact with dealers. Other private individuals have also emerged as print collectors, who made significant contributions to the collection, yet they have remained mostly unknown until now. In addition to this, Te Papa still has an active policy of purchasing more prints for the collection. Finally the prints themselves are examined in detail, considering both their physical qualities and art historical significance, in order to highlight the strengths of the collection. Some prints from the collection will be analysed for the first time here, as no extensive research has previously been conducted on this particular part of Te Papa's print collection, and some of the prints were added very recently and have thus not been available for viewing until now.

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