Sarah Hunt, Daily Herald

The Brigham Young University Museum of Art put their first of four light-sensitive exhibits on display on Wednesday, using selections from woodcut prints by Albrecht Durer, a 16th century German draftsman, painter and writer.

Durer, born in 1471, was known for printmaking, the process of etching a reversed image into a block of wood, then putting ink on the block and stamping it onto a piece of paper, with the final product showing the image in the correct orientation.

“In his prints, there is a lot of detail. It’s almost crowded,” said BYU student Tanner Davidson. Davidson attended the exhibition as part of a culture credit assignment for his humanities class. 

Durer’s artwork is only displayed for a short period of time twice each year due to its extreme light sensitivity. No photography of any kind is permitted. They will continue to be on display in the Print Study Room on the lower level on Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Nine of Durer’s works are on display in the Print Study Room on the lower level for the exhibit’s opening, with one additional piece hanging elsewhere on the lower level. Students and the public are invited to view the pieces for the length of the exhibition.

Sarah Hunt, Daily Herald

Durer’s works are known for featuring many intense details, multiple subjects and objects in the foreground and background, and highlighting the architecture framing the scene.

“I like learning about the symbolism,” said student Christina Thorley. “I don’t always notice everything in the print at first, so I enjoy learning about extra details in the description and then finding them in the artwork.”

All of these pieces of art were a gift to the BYU Museum of Art in 1959 by the estate of another artist, Mahonri M. Young, who’s works hang nearby in the lower level of the museum.

The prints on display in the MoA come from a few collections, such as “The Apocalypse” (c. 1498), his “Large Passion” collection starting in 1497 and his “Life of The Virgin” series starting in 1500.

The prints on display included “The Annunciation” (c. 1504), “Christ Among the Doctors” (c. 1511), “St. Christopher in the Wilderness with a Flight of Birds” (c. 1504), “Saints Lawrence, Sixtus, and Stephen” (c. 1504), and “Tomb of the Savior” (c. 1507). The final print, which hangs in a nearby exhibit, is titled “Christ Taking Leave of His Mother” (c. 1507).

Sarah Hunt, Daily Herald

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