Old Italian Masters
Medium
Graphic Arts-Print
Classification
Graphic Arts-Print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum acquisition
Accession Number
1974.39.56
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Old Italian Masters** by Timothy Cole is a striking wood engraving print from the Smithsonian American Art's collection, evoking the solemn drama of the Crucifixion of Christ Created by the renowned American engraver Timothy Cole (1852–1), this undated work falls within the Graphic Arts-Print classification, a medium Cole mastered to reproduce the masterpieces of Europe's Old Masters with remarkable fidelity. His technique involved meticulously carving wooden blocks to translate the oil paintings' textures, light, and depth into intricate black-and-white prints, bridging the gap between gran...
About the Artist
Timothy Cole
Timothy Cole (1852–1931) was one of the most celebrated wood engravers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, renowned for his extraordinary ability to translate the tonal richness of Old Master paintings into the exacting medium of engraved wood. Born in London, England, Cole emigrated with his family to the United States in 1858. He began his career as a wood engraver in Chicago, but t...