Technische Hochschule Köln, Oct 16–17, 2026

Since 2023, an interdisciplinary research team, funded by the DFG and the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation, has been systematically investigating and cataloguing drawings and prints from the Cranach workshop. The results will be published soon online in the Cranach Digital Archive.

The symposium aims to examine and reflect on the drawings and prints from the Cranach workshop within a broader context, encompassing both art history and artists’ techniques. In the process the drawings will not only be assessed as an integral part of the Cranach workshop practice but will also be considered within a wider context. Significant to the field of printmaking, a new catalogue will, for the first time, systematically document the various editions and states. This approach will offer an opportunity to conduct a nuanced examination of the conditions of production, functional relationships, and modes of reception of graphic works in the early modern period.

Possible topics and questions include:
– drawings in the context of image-making processes
– the function of drawing within the creative process – from the initial sketches and studies to representative sheets and models, as well as underdrawings for paintings
– drawings and prints as autonomous works of art, as demonstrations of artistic virtuosity and as media for the affirmation of artistic authorship
– an exploration of the prevailing conditions and context when the printing matrix was produced
– the provenance of printing blocks and plates from their creation to later reuses
– methods, procedures, and interpretation of the results of technical examinations within interdisciplinary discourse
– the functions, conventions and experiments in drawing and printmaking techniques and materials
– drawings and prints as a space for dialogue about artistic, political, or religious themes, and within the context of early modern collecting culture

The event is intended to be discussion-based, affording participants the possibility to consider completed research papers as well as methodological approaches, open questions, and future perspectives. We welcome both more detailed presentations (approx. 25 minutes) and shorter keynote talks (approx. 10 minutes) that contribute specific theses, case studies, or project-related considerations to the discussion.
Proposals for presentations or short talks, accompanied by an abstract in German or English (up to 2,000 characters), should be submitted by 30 May 2026 to: da************@******ln.de
A publication of the contributions is planned.
Organisation:
Daniel Görres, M.A.
Prof. Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich
Prof. Dr. Susanne Wegmann

Venue:
Technische Hochschule Köln (Cologne University of Applied Sciences), Ubierring 40, 50678 Köln

Project partners in the research project: TH Köln, Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Deutsches Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte – Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Kupferstich-Kabinett der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden and other collections.

Source : Blog de l’AphAhAu