Bandello
1947
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
wood engraving [trial proof]
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.17.475
Art Historical Context
Imre Reiner's *Bandello* (1947) is a striking wood engraving trial proof, the Hungarian-born artist's mastery of this meticulous printmaking technique. Born in 1904, Reiner fled political upheaval in Europe, eventually settling in London, where he became renowned for his delicate, modernist wood engravings. Created just after World War II, this work reflects the era's renewed focus on precision and introspection in graphic arts, with wood engraving's fine lines—carved into the end grain of wood—allowing for exquisite detail akin to drawing. As a trial proof, *Bandello* offers a rare glimpse i...
About the Artist
Imre Reiner
**Imre Reiner** (1900–1987) was a Hungarian-born Swiss painter, graphic artist, typographer, and master illustrator whose multifaceted career bridged sculpture, experimental typography, and exquisite wood engravings. Born on August 18, 1900, in Versec (now Vršac, Serbia) to a Jewish family—his father a sculptor and stone carver who apprenticed him young—Reiner began formal studies at age 15 in scu...